Council debates change order

RITZVILLE – At the March 5 City Council meeting, Ben Varela of Varela Engineering was on hand to describe a change order for the Well No. 8 pump station project.

The change order totaling $151,146, including sales tax, had five subparts.

The council debated whether the first of the five components — totaling $32,000 — was necessary.

As described by Varela, that change order involved replacing an existing “booster pump control valve” in Well No. 9 and installing it at Well No. 8.

The change order proposal stated that a 12-inch check valve would be installed on Well No. 9 where the 8-inch valve came out.

Varela estimated that implementing this first change order component would result in a cost savings of approximately $20,000.

Councilman Dennis Chamberlain asked Public Works Director Dave Breazeale, “Do you feel confident that this will not ‘mess up’ Well 9?”

Breazeale said that discharging water from Well No. 9 into an external pit — a change that would coincide with the replacement of the existing valve — should alleviate several issues with the water system, including how the water looks.

Currently, he noted that existing pipes contain food-grade lubricant that makes the water cloudy.

“This change should alleviate much of that issue,” he said.

According to Varela, Well No. 8 is scheduled to start operation at the beginning of August, but he said that depends on all the required parts arriving on time.

He also noted that if the contractor replaces the existing Well No. 9 valve to install it on Well No. 8, the two wells could be offline for some unspecified period during the summer months.

Breazele was not concerned about that possibility.

“If we have that part on hand, it shouldn’t take more than an hour to change it out,” he said.

Councilwoman Michelle Plumb asked, “Why can’t we just buy a new valve for Well 8?”

In the end, Mayor Scott Yaeger suggested leaving the Well No. 9 valve in place, buying a new valve for Well No. 8 and replacing the Well No. 9 valve when parts become available.

“Otherwise, there are too many anomalies involved,” he said. “I’d much rather have Well 8 operating before we shut down Well 9 to replace a valve.”

Council members concurred.

They decided to remove the first component of the change order and approved the remaining components. These included replacing outdated radio antennas and various upgrades to water lines, valves, and bearings.

For now, Well 9 and its much-debated valve will remain in place.

In other business, the City Council, approved a broadband co-location agreement between the city and Adams County. The original agreement had been slightly to require the city and county to “consult on a mutually agreeable design and appearance of any permanent facility/building added to the property.” In other words, the city wanted to work with the county to select the type of broadband building to be placed next to the old fire station on First Avenue.

As Councilman Mike Schrag said, “We don’t want a Tuff Shed sitting there.”