Work on pump station progressing

RITZVILLE – The City Council approved paying $179,643 toward the Well No. 8 project during its April 2 meeting.

The payment was for work performed through March 22 by Varela Engineering and Management of Spokane, and POW Contracting of Pasco. It covered site work, building framing, an electrical "rough in" involving wiring to a transformer and the installation of the remaining 12-inch water main.

The original contract price for the project, including sales tax, totals $1,988,172. The payment will leave a balance of $1,373,372 to complete the building and related utilities.

Last December, Schneider Water Services completed the drilling of Well No. 8 and Varela managed the project.

Even accounting for costs associated with decommissioning the prior well, the drilling project was successfully completed within budget, city officials said.

At the council's Dec. 20, 2022 meeting, Public Works Director Dave Breazeale reported that Well No. 8 was "officially down to its depth and drilled 1,575 feet into solid rock... There is only a 9-inch deviance between the top and bottom of the hole."

Currently, the city's only operating well is Well No. 9 at the golf course. It's located next to the city standpipe and water tower.

At the council's first meeting in March, Ben Varela said Well No. 8 is scheduled to start operation at the beginning of August. That depends, however, on all required parts arriving on time.

In other matters discussed:

Tire slashings

Police Chief Dave McCormick said, "Easter morning quite a few citizens woke up to find that their tires had been slashed."

Police took 19 separate reports and at last count, 30 tires had been slashed, he said, adding two officers worked diligently on the case and were able to identify two juveniles who were responsible. Both were interviewed and admitted their involvement.

"We're moving forward," McCormick said. "We're serving a search warrant on Snapchat, a social media site. Supposedly, some of those tire slashings were posted on that site."

The police have sent letters to Snapchat and requested warrants.

"We were very fortunate to get the breaks we did with the assistance of some other kids and their parents," he said.

Engine work

At its March 19 meeting, the City Council approved the purchase of a 2015 Ford F-550 with 18,809 miles for $60,210.

Public Works Director Dave Breazeale later found that the truck had significant problems. "Before buying the truck, we heard noise in the motor, but our scan didn't identify any issues," he said.

"I took the truck to Spokane to have it checked at Corwin Ford. They removed the oil pan and found that the oil was so sludgy it probably hadn't been routinely changed. They also determined that two cylinders were bad and the wiper blades needed replacing."

The estimated cost to replace the long block (a complete engine) and wiper blades totaled $21,133. Although the new engine is on back order, the truck still runs, according to Breazeale.

"When all is said and done, we bought the truck for $60,000 and we'll put a new engine in it for another $21 thousand," Breazeale said.

Total cost for the service truck: $81,343.

"Once the new engine is installed, the vehicle will be literally brand new," he said. "That same truck, if purchased new, would cost $200,000. We got a great deal initially, and it's still a great deal," he said.

He added that the city budgeted $100,000 for the service truck.

"So, we're still below budget," Breazeale said.