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(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham City Manager Eric Garretty speaks to the public during a town hall meeting Tuesday, Aug. 26 where he discusses a number of key issues the city is facing. One of those issues was the water and sewer infrastructure problems the city is trying to address.
The city of Graham is negotiating a contract for the rehabilitation of the Woodland Pump Station as a measure to improve aging water infrastructure within the city.
The Graham City Council met Thursday, Aug. 28 and approved City Manager Eric Garretty to negotiate and conclude a contract with Curtis Service Company, LLC, not exceeding $511,500, which includes a 10% contingency above the bid amount.
“The type work for this project is highly specialized and in high demand in our area. We did only receive one bid for this project. Our engineers of record feel that this bid is fair and reasonable and we should accept it,” Garretty said. “Our original opinion of probable cost for this project was $500,000. City staff are concerned that if we go out for rebid, we may get no bids on the second round.”
In October 2024, the city council approved negotiating an agreement with Parkhill Incorporated for engineering consulting services for the development of plans for the Woodland Pump Station improvements capital project.
The city accepted bids for the removal and replacement of the existing pump station pumps, piping, electrical and controls until Tuesday, Aug. 19.
The contracted engineering company Parkhill recommended that the city accept the company with a base bid proposal amount of $465,000.
The city will pay for the project out of its Water Capital Fund which supports water capital improvement projects for the city. The rehabilitation of the city’s water storage tanks are budgeted for the city this year within that fund.
The Woodland Storage Tank has had a number of issues and has required ongoing maintenance. Garretty made a presentation in August 2024 to the city council showing the flanges used to create water pressure to deliver water at the station were greatly reduced in size due to wear.
At the time, the cost estimate to repair the pump was $26,550 with a lead time of 14 weeks. The city’s water department maintains 64.8 miles of waterlines, three storage tanks and three pump stations.
“I realize this is just one item, but what I want to highlight to the council and the public is we’re behind on updating, improving and maintaining our water infrastructure, and that costs money, and that’s part of what’s driving the need for these rate increases,” Garretty said in August 2024.
The city council this month approved 7% increases to the water and sewer rates beginning in October. The water and sewer funds are enterprise funds for the city that are supported solely by the rates that are charged for those services.
The city council has heard several presentations from the city manager regarding the seriousness of the water and sewer issues. Council Member Jeff Dickinson said during a public hearing on the rate increase Thursday, Aug. 7 that the city needs to make water a top priority.
“We’re not here without a water supply. I don’t know how we rationalize that against the police force, the fire department, everything else that we enjoy in this community, but water is absolutely essential to sustaining any community, and our infrastructure is poor, it’s been neglected,” he said.
