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Inflation: Century Wastewater Project Bids Come In $1.2 Million Over Grant Funds
December 13, 2022
The Town of Century expected the cost of the first phase of a multi-million wastewater project to be higher than first anticipated due to inflation. They did not expect about three times — nearly $1.2 million — higher due to inflation, as they learned Monday night.
The project was to replace a sludge press at the wastewater treatment plant and two lift stations, which ensure wastewater, more commonly called sewage, keeps flowing rather than backing up into homes and businesses.
The town received a $650,000 Community Development Block Grant for the project, based upon a calculation and grant application about two years ago. But the lowest bid for the work came in at $1.9 million.
Town engineer Dale Long suggested dropping the WWTP sludge press for now, moving it to a second phase. That would leave the town on the hook for about $350,000 over the value of the grant.
Century Town Council President Luis Gomez asked Long whose fault it is that the Pilgrim Lodge lift station has been down for three years, and Long said it was ultimately fault because the state took a couple of years to get from the grant application to an award. The lift station is located across from Pilgrim Lodge Baptist Church on Jefferson Avenue. It has been out of service with a temporary bypass pump in place for months.
“The State of Florida needs to bite that over half million,” Gomez said, referring to the cost increase for the two lift stations.
“Good luck with that,” council member James Smith said. “At that time, that was the estimate, but everything is skyrocketing now.”
The Pilgrim Lodge lift station is the town’s top priority because it’s totally non-functioning. Second priority is a failing a lift station that keeps the wastewater flowing from an area that includes the Century Health and Rehabilitation Center
“When that lift station goes down, it backs up the entire nursing home,” Heath Burkett said. “They call us at 2 o’clock in the morning and tell us their toilets won’t flush.”
“Astronomical,” is how grant consultant Robin Phillips described bids on grant applications for multiple governmental entities. “I’ve had to cut back on all my grants.”
“The economy has crashed,” Phillips said.
The council voted 3-0 to move forward with awarding the $1.9 million project to Brown Construction of Northwest Florida, but include a change order to remove the sludge press. The town will contribute $350,000 above the grant, and seek the funding from Escambia County, the Local Options Sales Tax or American Rescue Plan Act funds, rather than from the town’s general fund.
Pictured: A wastewater lift station near Pilgrim Lodge Baptist Church on Jefferson Avenue in Century out of service and running on a temporary pump as seen May 10, 2022. Pictured inset: Engineer Dale Long addresses the Century Town Council Monday night. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
11 Responses to “Inflation: Century Wastewater Project Bids Come In $1.2 Million Over Grant Funds”
You have to raise taxes if you expect to keep the infrastructure up to code and things working. This thing where politicians keep getting reelected by lowering taxes is not helping anything. It just keep us from being to afford to maintain the city. What do people actually think taxes are for? Short answer to maintain our government and infrastructure.
What I want to know is the water runoff from the waste treatment plant that dumps in the Escambia River within EPA guidelines?
Whose fault is it? Try the Town of Century’s fault for not doing upkeep on the stations! I say use the ARPA funds and fix what has to be fixed. The nursing home should not be going through this all the time! What a shame!!!
This is pure fiscal malfeasance…it didnt just start last month, its decades of uneducated people putting on a suit and doing what dishonest people do.
This started 45 years ago when people used the council for their own financial benifit and little lucrative favors.
The guys there now are left with the aftermath of that fiscal malfeasance.
The ones that created it are out of the limelight….
Doing the math from this article, the sludge press with installation is $900,000. I’d laugh if the punchline wasn’t at the expense of taxpayers and utility customers.
I make a type of sludge press. (No names so I don’t violate any website rules!). Unlike a lot of my competitors, I build it here in the USA instead of importing parts or even the whole thing from China or Europe. Turns out Americans can build stuff good, fast AND cheap when there aren’t any million dollar CEOs involved.
If I can’t keep the press cost under half of that, I’ll eat my hat. Might even be able to get down to a quarter! Need to make some phone calls tomorrow morning to let the council know they have options.
1. “So” ….. should be Show the spread sheet
and
2. “Taxpayer” nailed it!
3. We need an audit of all of that money right down to city halls.
So the spread sheets that proves it is inflation.
Show the earnings of the top players.
Unless a cost analysis was done nothing can go under the umbrella of inflation.
Supply and demand first rule of business.
And if Centruy would look at the Infrastructure Act they would find huge amounts of money for Infrastructure, sewage upgrades, etc…
‘“The economy has crashed,” Phillips said’…after seeing the government won’t raise taxes to fork out more money to pay over-the-top private sector bids or incompetent management of city facilities.
Wait long enough and inflation will be the excuse for not doing any upgrades.
A town is like homeownership, repair while moneys in hand.
Century sure living up to its name, living in the 19th century for sure.
Century was awarded over $924,000 American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds from the federal government.
USE THAT MONEY
Y’all voted for this “inflation”…. enjoy!!!!