Council updated on water treatment plant

The Olney City Council heard updates at its Oct. 14 meeting from civil engineering firm Corlett Probst & Boyd (CPB) about plans to rebid the city’s long-delayed water treatment plant project. Executives from the firm, T. Blane Boswell, project engineer, and Devin Smith, president and project engineer, outlined the next steps after last year’s bidding process came in about $2 million above the City’s $13.5 million budget.

“A year ago, the bids came back higher than anticipated,” Mayor Rue Rogers said. “We didn’t feel confident in the funding we had to cover the shortfall, so we declined the bids at the time.”

Mayor Rogers added that while the city briefly considered managing the project on its own, they ultimately decided to re-engage CPB to handle the rebidding process. City Attorney Bill Myers is reviewing the services agreement with the engineering firm, and the process is expected to start next year. Olney’s water treatment plant was built more than a century ago and is in danger of failing, city officials have said.

The design concept of the water treatment plant remains the same, with only minor changes.

“During the first bidding process, there were a few addendums, and we will make sure those are included in the new bid,” Mr. Boswell said.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approval of the project’s original design requires the city to stick with the approved plans.

One of the challenges, the CPB team noted, is timing the project with contractors.

“We hope to get more interest this time around, both locally and statewide,” Mr. Smith said. “It’s a fairly straightforward design, so there isn’t much room for changes

or cost-cutting.”

Mayor Rogers emphasized that the project’s funding remains a top priority. While the city plans to pay in phases as work is completed, additional funds may be needed.

“We’ve been in talks with other entities about securing more funding options,” Mayor Rogers said. “We also have a grant in process with the USDA, but those can take five to six years to materialize. The challenge is bridging the gap within the two-year build timeframe.”

Mayor Rogers also noted the importance of moving quickly. “Our buying power diminishes the longer we wait,” he said, stressing the urgency of putting the project back out for bid soon.

The council agreed to move forward with the rebidding process and will continue to explore options for closing the funding gap.