Council OKs $1.2M bond for sewer plant work
The money will be used for engineering, design and administrative services related to the project.
KINGSTON, N.Y. » The Common Council has approved bonding for $1.2 million in engineering, design and administrative services to upgrade the city wastewater treatment plant so that it meets more stringent state effluent standards.
The five-year bond was authorized in a 7-0 vote Tuesday. Aldermen Tony Davis and Patrick O’Reilly were absent.
“The state made it more strict on [treating] compound metals,” council President James Noble said. “In order for us to be up to snuff with their requirement, we have to get a plan in place.”
The plant, which discharges into the Rondout Creek at the Downtown waterfront, must be upgraded to meet new state requirements for a reduction in the nitrogen content of treated water.
City Engineer Ralph Swenson, in a June 1 letter, proposed bonding to cover the cost of engineering for the project.
The city is seeking a $7.9 million grant from the state Water Infrastructure Improvement Act and $5 million from the state Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure Grant Program for the upgrade.
The council did not provide information about which engineering firms were being considered to design upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.
“Six proposals were received in response to the city’s request for proposals to enhance the plant’s hydraulic capacity and grit removal at the Wilbur Avenue pretreatment pump station,” the bonding resolution states. “The selection committee has selected four consultants to better determine which might better serve the city’s needs and will make a recommendation to the mayor upon completion of the interviews.”
Following the meeting, Noble said $1.2 million seems like “a hell of a lot of money for engineering and design” costs.
Swenson wrote in his letter that he would “make full documentation available as soon as possible, [but] unfortunately, at this time, we are in the middle of the evaluation process and are unable to provide fee specifics.”
The upgrades are unrelated to a current $3.3 million repair and upgrade project at the treatment plant. That work is expected to be reimbursed by Federal Emergency Management Agency aid because it was a result of flooding from Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.