Facilities Committee Meeting Minutes – Wednesday, September 20, 2023
For your consideration, please read the minutes from the Facilities Committee Meeting held on Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room.
Facilities Minutes 9-20-23 with Attachments
To read the minutes, please open or download the pdf from the link above, or you may see more below.
Brunswick-Glynn Joint Water & Sewer Commission
1703 Gloucester Street, Brunswick, GA 31520
Commission Meeting Room
Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at 1:00 PM
FACILITIES COMMITTEE MINUTES
PRESENT:
Ben Turnipseed, Chairman
Tripp Stephens, Commissioner
Charles Cook, Commissioner
Andrew Burroughs, Executive Director
ALSO PRESENT:
Todd Kline, Director of Engineering
David Owens, Director of Finance
Pam Crosby, Director of Procurement
Janice Meridith, Executive Commission Admin.
Chris Stovall, Thomas & Hutton Engineering
Chairman Turnipseed called the meeting to order at 1:00 PM.
Chairman Turnipseed provided the invocation.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
Chairman Turnipseed opened the Public Comment Period.
There being no citizens that wished to address the Committee, Chairman Turnipseed closed the Public Comment Period.
APPROVAL
- Minutes from Facilities Committee Meeting August 16, 2023
Commissioner Cook made a motion seconded by Commissioner Stephens to approve the minutes from the Facilities Committee Meeting held on August 16, 2023. Motion carried 3-0-0.
- Contract Award – Canal Road Water Production Facility – A. Burroughs
Mr. Burroughs advised that the Canal Road Well located off Harry Driggers Boulevard is permitted but does not have treatment processed or storage facilities onsite. The well is in the Upper Floridian aquifer and is similar to the Ridgewood well conversion that occurred in 2019 and 2020. The mandatory pre-bid teleconference and site visit was held on July 12, 2023, and out of the seven firms attending only two firms submitted bids. The apparent low bidder was Reeves Young, LLC in the amount of $5,496,000. The apparent low bid on this project significantly exceeds the budgeted amount for construction. The project was budgeted in 2021 with a total budget of $1,850,000, which was in line with costs seen the previous year on the Ridgewood Project at $1,433,921. The Engineer’s Opinion of Probable cost from May 2023 was $3,777,000. There is $1,622,200 remaining in the budget for this project after engineering. If awarded, the balance of $3,873,800 would come from the R&R Reserve. This total value includes deductive alternates for a 250,000-gallon ground storage tank in lieu of a 300,000-gallon ground storage tank and undercutting and structural backfill in lieu of concrete piling for the ground storage tank. These deductive alternates were valued at $253,000. The Engineer of Record, Thomas & Hutton, has begun working with Reeves Young to determine where cost savings may be found. It is the recommendation of Thomas & Hutton to award a contract to Reeves Young for the project while a deductive change order is negotiated. The expectation is that a deductive change order would be presented to the Commission for consideration either in October or November. It is unknown at this time how much of a deduction may be available.
Commissioner Cook made a motion seconded by Commissioner Stephens that the Facilities Committee recommend awarding a contract to Reeves Young, LLC for the construction of the Canal Road Water Production Facility in the amount of $5,496,000.
Chris Stovall, the Engineer of Record from Thomas & Hutton, was present to discuss details and provide responses to the Commissioners’ questions. Q&A included: Tank sizes and GPM requirements; generator cost and lead time; rising prices / increases in materials and labor costs; contingency items; items such as dewatering that have a significant cost; holding award; value engineering; allowances, etc. After a very thorough and lengthy discussion on the project and challenges JWSC is experiencing with the industry’s continuously increasing material costs, labor, and delivery lead times, the Committee decided to defer this item until the next meeting to allow for more research and understanding of the bid from Reeves Young, and possible value engineering. Chris Stovall and staff will continue to work with the contractor and this item will be revisited at the October meetings.
Motion carried 0-3-0. The vote against the motion was unanimous.
Commissioner Cook made a motion seconded by Commissioner Stephens to amend the original motion that this will be brought back next month to the Facilities Committee with the understanding that there will be some additional explanation of the bid and possible value engineering. Motion carried 3-0-0.
- Academy Creek Influent Pumps Purchase – A. Burroughs
Mr. Burroughs provided that the JWSC operates four (4) submersible pumps at Academy Creek to deliver the wastewater throughout the treatment process. There are currently two pumps down which were sent for rehab but the 12” Yeomans pumps are obsolete, and parts are not available. While some parts could be machined, staff has received quotes of $30,000 to machine a new impeller for the Yeomans pump. Given the critical nature of these pumps, staff solicited quotes from Flyght, KSB, and Grundfos for the purchase of two new pumps for the plant. Hydraulic pumps have been rented to provide additional pumping capacity at the plant during high flow events. Due to advances in motor and pump efficiencies all three manufacturers quoted pumps that were lower hp than the existing 125 hp pumps. This will allow the existing VFDs to be reutilized with the pumps. The Flyght pump is preferred for the applications, and they have an adaptor plate to allow for the use of the currently designed guide rail system and pump base. The other two manufacturers’ pumps will require machining an adaptor plate specifically for the plant setup.
Commissioner Cook made a motion seconded by Commissioner Stephens that the Facilities Committee recommend that the full Commission approve the purchase of two new Flyght influent pumps for Academy Creek from Xylem Water Solutions USA, Inc. in the amount of $161,972.40. Motion carried 3-0-0.
DISCUSSION
- Capital Project Report – T. Kline / A. Burroughs
Chris Stovall with Thomas & Hutton Engineering began the monthly update by reporting on the status of the ARCO project. He provided details on the water system having been installed and on the sewer portion of the project that is partially done. Mr. Kline and Mr. Burroughs presented the remainder of the update on the monthly Project Report for Capital Projects currently in process including those in the engineering phase and those in construction. The Commissioners were provided with a packet containing: the Capital Project Photographs, Capital Project Report Spreadsheet, the Capital Project Gantt Chart of project timelines, and the Earned Value Analysis Report. Mr. Kline and Mr. Burroughs thoroughly presented the update by discussing each project along with excellent photographs and descriptive details.
- Water Production Report – A. Burroughs
Mr. Burroughs presented the Water Production Report for the month of August 2023 to the Facilities Committee. This report provides the Committee with the monthly and daily water production in millions of gallons for each of the BGJWSC water production facilities (wells). The following are Brunswick District production facilities: Howard Coffin, Goodyear Park, Brunswick Villa, FLETC, I-95, Golden Isles I, Golden Isles II, Canal, and Ridgewood. The South Mainland District wells include Fancy Bluff, Exit 29, and Brookman. Mallery, Airport, Harrington, and Hampton South are the wells located in the St. Simons Island District.
- WPCF Plant Flows Report – A. Burroughs
Mr. Burroughs reviewed the August Monthly Wastewater Flow Report with the Commissioners. This report contains data regarding the influent and effluent flows, concentration of elements and chemicals, plant capacity, etc. August 2023 had a higher recorded rainfall at Academy Creek than the month of July. The influent flow at Academy Creek for August was 6.9 MGD as compared to July at 6.8. The effluent flow for August increased from July’s 6.1 MGD to 6.4 MGD, with the plant operating at 47% of its capacity. The influent flow at Dunbar Creek for the month of August was 2.9 MGD, and the effluent flow at 2.7 MGD, with the plant operating at 68% capacity. The influent flow at South Port was at 0.432 and the effluent flow reported at 0.517, with the plant operating at 34% capacity. JWSC’s wastewater treatment plants are operating very well.
There being no further business, Chairman Turnipseed adjourned the meeting at 2:35 p.m.