O'Fallon council votes to repair sewer plant
Opponents say waiting for bids would be more fair
Half of the board said it was critical to speed approval for the more than $1 million replacement part without the standard bidding process in order to avoid possible fines from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
The other half said there was no need to bypass the bidding process because the installation of the new part, called a UV train, would not be completed until November, and a three-week delay to sort out the bidding process wouldn't matter.A UV train is an enclosed pipe with ultraviolet bulbs on the inside that disinfects and transports waste. A cost estimate for replacement of the train received from one company, TrojanUV Solutions, was more than $1 million.
In a 4-4 vote that required a tie breaker from Mayor Donna Morrow, the council passed a resolution to suspend the rules of procurement, meaning they would forgo the usual bidding process to replace the damaged pipe.
Council members Bill Gardner, Ward 1, Pierce Conley, Ward 2, Rick Lucas, Ward 2, and Bill Hennessy, Ward 4, voted to suspend the rules of procurement.
Council members Mark Perkins, Ward 1, Dan Haney, Ward 3, Jeff Yelich, Ward 3, and Jeff Schwentker, Ward 4, voted against suspending the rules of procurement.
Assistant City Administrator Greg Smothers said the train came apart at the welds and cannot be fixed.
"When this thing was designed back in 2003, the engineering firm had some questions on if it was strong enough to resist the pressures," Smothers said.
Smothers said the engineering firm went back to the manufacturer, and together they reinforced the structure of the pipe.
Smothers said the train broke July 3, less than two months after the plant was re-rated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, or DNR, to accept more sewage.
Smothers said he didn't know if the increase in sewage being treated at the plant caused the pipe to come apart.
As of Friday, the plant was using a backup pipe, Smothers said.
Smothers said if the backup pipe failed, the city would run the risk of being fined millions of dollars by the natural resources department.
During the council meeting, Haney argued a new train would not be operable until November, so it would be better to wait three weeks to gather more bids and information.
Morrow said acting fast would give the city leverage with DNR.
"How do you explain to the taxpayers we got a million dollar fine?" Morrow said.
Jim Rhodes, environmental engineer for DNR, said if the second UV train failed, the city would not automatically be fined.
"They would have to take some action or possibly face a fine," Rhodes said.
The funding for the repair is slated to come from the city's general fund. The City Council also passed an ordinance that could open the door for a bond issue in the future to pay for the repair.
If the city issues bonds at a later date, those bonds could be used to replenish the general fund to pay for the replacement pipe, city spokesman Tom Drabelle said.
In other sewer plant-related news, the council also voted to begin a separate bidding process for companies interested in managing and maintaining the sewer plant.
The company that currently operates the wastewater treatment plant, Alliance Water Systems, is nearing the end of its contract.
In 2006, the city opened up the $5 million maintenance contract to bids.
Three companies, Alliance, Environmental Management Corporation or EMC, and Missouri American Water Corporation vied for the contract then.
According to documents provided by the city, an independent consultant hired by the city recommended switching to EMC. EMC's bid was $700,000 less than the bid from Alliance, which was awarded the contract.
John Mitchell, president of EMC, said in a recent interview the city should award his company the contract without an additional bidding process because he thought the company was being treated unfairly.
Morrow said resurrecting the bidding was reasonable in order to have a transparent process that would dispel claims of favoritism.
Gardner, Perkins, Lucas, Yelich and Haney voted to open the sewer contract up to the bid process.
Conley, Schwentker and Hennessy voted against it.
