Council approves wastewater plant RFP, to seek sole-source approval for repairs

City staff told the Jenkins City Council on Feb. 3 that 15 city projects totaling approximately 13,326,000 are under management and that the wastewater treatment plant repair received a single proposal. The staff member said the proposal from Nesbet is 'familiar with this city and with the structure of everything' and recommended approving the firm so the city can request sole-source approval from the funding agency.

The council moved to approve the request for proposals and voted by voice to accept the staff recommendation. The staff presentation described needed process improvements at the plant, including repairs to clarifiers, underground cable replacement and a new circuit, and noted that the current RFP addresses immediate repairs using Clean Water funding. "They are familiar with this plant and the projects we've been doing," the staff member said when urging approval.

The staff also explained a broader capital plan to increase treatment capacity to serve the industrial park. According to the presentation, the plant now ranges from "300 some thousand gallon when it's dry to over a million gallon a day," and additional funding (the transcript references an M of 1.4 million and another 4 million source) would be needed to expand capacity. Council members discussed approving the RFP tonight to keep the repair project moving while pursuing additional funding and approvals for capacity expansion.

Next steps identified by staff include submitting the letter to the funding agency requesting sole-source approval and proceeding with procurement to start immediate repairs; council did not record individual roll-call votes in the transcript.