Marion still looking at all options on sewer pump solutions

Marion still looking at all options on sewer pump solutions

Water & Sewer board extends deadline for decision

news@theeveningtimes.com

Marion has 75 days — or until the end of July — to decide whether or not to accept bids to upgrade the pumps at three of its sewer pumping stations or go with another option.

Marion received bids to install bigger pumps at Sartini, Bayou Vista, and Neely, but may not need bigger pumps if they decide to build a new force mane line from Sartini to the sewer pond instead.

“We advertised for bids for improvements to Bayou Vista, Sartini, and Neely and met and reviewed the bids,” said Mayor Frank Fogleman. “But a conversation came up about maybe building another pump station and not upgrading the pumps like we planned. So (engineer) Jack Bond advised us to extend the 75 days.”

Sartini pumps to Bayou Vista so if the city diverts that volume directly to the sewer pond, the city would not need to put in as big a pump at Bayou Vista.

Building a forced mane line from Sartini to the pond would take about half the load off Bayou Vista or about 250 to 275 gallons a minute.

“So in effect that reduces the pumping capacity of what we had bid,” Fogleman said. The bids came in at $169,000 to upgrade the pumps at Sartini and bayou Vista, and $232,000 for Sartini, Bayou Vista, and Neely.

Bayou Vista would get new 60 horsepower motors which would increase pumping capacity from 500 gallons a minute to 1.040 gallons. The old pumps would then be moved to Sartini which would increase pumping capacity from 550 gallons a minute to 800 gallons. The city also was looking to spend $35,000 to replace the pumps at Neely with 25 horsepower motors.

Fogleman said the water and sewer committee also asked Bond to come up with an estimate of what it would cost to build a pump station near the intersection of Airport Road, College Boulevard, and Hwy. 64.

The 1998 water and sewer master plan actually shows a pump station in the northwestern area of Bayou Vista.

“Jack (Bond) says in order to service some ground across the highway from John Deere below Hwy. 64 and Airport Road, we would have to move the pump station closer to the intersection,” Fogleman said.

The city still has $190,000 left over from a loan from Arkansas Natural Resources Commission which they need to spend. Voters in March also approved extending an existing bond another 30 years which would generate an additional $16 million for capital improvement projects — $360,000 of which is for building the forced mane line from Sartini.

Fogleman said the city can stick with option one and accept the bid, choose option two — build the forced mane out of Sartini and not put as big a motor in Bayou Vista, or option 3 which is to upgrade Neely and not do anything at Bayou Vista and Sartini.

“That has yet to be debated,”

Fogleman said. “We still have the ability to accept and embrace option one and go forward with

that.”

By Mark Randall