A request for the first of several grants the Foss Reservoir Master Conservancy District hopes to get for its big modernization program has been submitted.
This one was for $750,000. If received, the district would have to match it with $750,000 from its own resources. The entire modernization program is expected to cost $6 million or more.
Shawn Dewees, manager of the Foss water treatment plant, told the board at its April meeting Monday night that he submitted the request prior to the April 1 deadline. He said the $750,000 match from the district can be “in kind,” meaning labor or something else besides cash.
Dewees told the board there’s no guarantee the grant will be received, but Duane Smith – the district’s hired consultant – said he feels good about it. He said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the reservoir, had been encouraging him and the board to apply for it.
“We don’t get it if we don’t apply,” said Joe Tipton, one of two Hobart representatives on the seven-man board. In fact, he said this was a big reason the board had Smith do an in-depth drought contingency study not long ago.
Two representatives of Burns and MacDonnell, the engineering company that oversaw the City of Clinton’s $29.5-million water improvement program, were also present at Monday’s meeting. Burns & Mac is now working for the Foss board on its program.
Jake White from B&M gave an overview of the program.
“We know we’ve got to have a (new) clarifier,” he said. “Failure of the present one is imminent. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when.”
White said the Foss treatment plant’s filters are in essentially the same shape.
It’s been said at previous meetings that the clarifier will cost an estimated $3.5 million. The present filters don’t have to be replaced, just rehabbed. The estimated cost for that is $2.47 million.
White said the Foss improvement program is planned to be done in three phases. First is designing the improvements, second is bidding the project, and third is construction. The bidding phase would include preparation of plans and specifications, plus of course opening the bids.
“It’s almost two years till the project is complete and ready to go,” said White, adding, “and that’s a conservative schedule. Probably 18 months at a minimum.”
Which didn’t sound too good to the directors who’d just been told that both the clarifier and filters – the plant’s two primary components – were “on the verge of failure.”
White said the design and bid phase of the project would cost $550,000.
“What about the cost of construction?” asked Larry Perkey, Hobart’s other board member. “We don’t know yet,” answered White.
Smith, the consultant, said the board could have somebody besides Burns & Mac look at the project, but he added, “I remember hearing Ronnie (Thompson, now retired former plant manager) talking about missing bolts. That’s what we want to minimize.”
Toward that end, Board Chairman David Berrong of Clinton said that’s why City Manager Mark Skiles got an expert to stay with its whole project. “It’s expensive,” he said, “but he (the expert, Lonnie Teel) saved the City of Clinton lots of money.”
Skiles was also present at the meeting. “My return was 4 to 1,” he said, apparently meaning Teel saved the City four times what it cost to have him around fulltime. “You need somebody on site all the time.”
“I agree,” said Tipton. “Anytime contractors are working, you need somebody on site.”
Berrong asked if the board would have more information in advance of its April meeting.
“You have to have advance information before the next meeting,” said Smith. For instance, he said the board will have to be making rate decisions and he would never recommend doing that without knowing what the costs are going to be.