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COMANCHE -- Rural area residents
southeast and west of Comanche should soon begin seeing work crews
laying water lines along many highways and county roads around Gustine
and Sidney, as the second phase of a second large expansion of the
service area of the county's primary rural water supply gets under
way.
That, at least, was the expectation
expressed by several officials at a meeting last Friday evening, April
20. The Comanche County Water Supply Corporation held its seventeenth
annual membership meeting at the Comanche Community Center.
The rural water system’s first expansion
phase was completed earlier in areas north and northwest of Comanche,
including areas around DeLeon, Beattie and Sipe Springs.
Board president Norman Williams called
the meeting to order, welcomed the crowd, and announced that voting in
the directors' election had ceased. He appointed a committee to
canvass the election ballots during the early part of the meeting.
After noting how hard the Board had
worked in bringing the second phase to a near start of construction,
Moore introduced members David Ward, Sam Robinett, Connie Keith and
Willem Terpstra to the attendees. Williams noted that Travis Day was
unable to attend the meeting due to a work related conflict, and that
Roy Kubiak’s (also absent) term of service was expiring.
Other team members introduced included
Randy Beyer, an engineer with Jacob and Martin, who had designed the
water supply system expansion; Breanna Barnes, the Corporation's new
office manager; Susan Gossett, who has served as the office manager
for several years and is now retiring; Joe Williams, the field service
supervisor who actually operates and maintains the rural water system;
and Brownwood attorney Robert Reich, the corporation's legal advisor.
President Williams noted that Brownwood
CPA Burl Lowery had completed his normal annual audit of the
Corporation's financial and related records and had issued an
unqualified opinion on the soundness of the reports presented.
Williams added, "And, we are making some
money," apparently referring to the fact that the reported loss of
almost $60,000 was more than offset on a cash basis by a non-cash
charge for depreciation of $67,000.
Williams then announced that the USDA's
Rural Development program had accepted the phase two expansion plans,
a request for bids and bid opening had been conducted, and contractors
had been accepted and mailed for signing. He said that as soon as the
signed contracts were returned, that they would be taken to Rural
Development for final approval, and then the closing of the
combination loan and grant funding would be completed, with
construction work expected to begin shortly afterward.
The phase two expansion project is funded
for a total of $2.5 million, $700 thousand of which is loan funds and
the balance of $1.8 million is grant funds.
At the previous year's meeting it had
been announced that three years of planning work on the phase two
expansion had culminated with the submission to Rural Development for
final review prior to putting the expansion work out for bids. The
optimism expressed in 2006, however, gave way as unanticipated
problems developed.
Williams explained that obtaining
permission to cross a railroad right-of-way with the water pipeline
had been a huge obstacle that required more than six months of time
and hundreds of hours of work to complete.
Locating and obtaining sites at the right
locations and elevations for pump stations and water storage tank
batteries was another large challenge. Williams added, "All we are
hoping for is to get the backhoes working and get the pipe in the
ground."
Water system operator Joe Williams, no
relation to Norman Williams, briefly addressed the meeting stating
that the system was operating well.
Randy Beyer addressed the meeting stating
that all the plans had been approved. He also spoke of the
unanticipated and unusual difficulty in obtaining permission for the
railroad crossing.
Beyer described the system expansion as
including approximately 70 miles of either eight- or two-inch pipe
being laid. He noted the expansion work was split into three contracts
awarded to three separate contractors, one for laying of water lines,
one for water tank construction and one for the booster pump stations.
The pipe laying contractor, BRB
Construction, a Kansas company that has been doing similar work in
Texas for six years, is nearing completion of another project and will
soon be able to mobilize for work on phase two.
Beyer noted that ground level water tank
storage on elevated sites was being used in the expansion rather than
standpipe water tanks for reasons of economy and operational
efficiency, adding that water disinfection requirements for storage
standpipes made them difficult to operate.
Another difficulty cited involved
obtaining electrical power, specifically the availability of
three-phase 480 volt power needed for certain pumping equipment. The
lack of adequate power in certain areas along Highway 36 required the
use of alternative in-line booster pumps that could operate on
available electrical service.
Beyer added that he "couldn't be happier"
with the contractors selected for the phase two work. He said that the
contracts allow 300 calendar days for completion of the work.
Following the meeting officials stated
their expectations that the work should be completed in six or seven
months.
Norman Williams then continued speaking
on other topics, noting that growth was occurring in rural areas in
the county and that many moving in and building homes wanted treated
water, rather than untreated well water.
Williams said that the corporation is
working with the city of Comanche in a long term project to locate
alternative sources of water in the event that surface water supplies
currently used become overtaxed or not available in a drought
emergency. He said that groundwater resources are being investigated.
Williams noted that the city of Comanche
had suddenly and without notice raised the cost of water supplied to
the Corporation's system by around 300%. He added that he, and later
the entire Board, had met with the Comanche City Council and expressed
their concerns about the sudden cost increase.
Williams also noted that Comanche city
water was only one available water source and that the corporation had
been investigating how the system could better utilize lower cost
water sources.
Williams announced that Sam Robinett, Connie Keith and Jerry Morgan
had been elected to three year terms as board members.
As the meeting moved toward the open
forum segment, Williams explained that given the limited funds
available and the costs involved, that the board had been required to
make certain cuts from the earlier plans for water service. He urged
those who had questions or problems with the reductions in service
area to discuss the matter with the engineer and board members outside
the formal meeting.
Williams stated that the board would
consider those situations on an individual basis where the economics
constrained their ability to deliver water to remote customers.
"We're going to try to work out
individual arrangements, a cost share, whatever it takes," Williams
said. "It is the principle of this corporation to provide water to
whomever should need it in Comanche County."
There were no questions or comments posed during the open forum and
the meeting was declared adjourned.
In a brief meeting following the
membership meeting, the board elected the same officers as had served
in the previous year: Norman Williams as president, David Ward as vice
president and Sam Robinett as secretary/treasurer. |
