Lincoln approves plan to remodel Waste Treatment Plant laboratory

 

[December 06, 2018] 

At the Monday night meeting of the Lincoln City Council, aldermen approved a plan to remodel the laboratory building at the city’s waste treatment plant for a cost of $520,000. This was one of three options offered to the aldermen by Crawford Murphy and Tilly at the November 27th Committee of the Whole.

The three options offered included renovating the existing building, tearing down the existing building and replacing it at the existing location, or finding a new location within the boundaries of the waste treatment plant and building a new structure.

Of the three options, the renovation of the existing building was the least expensive and also the most desirable because it would preserve the exterior structure, which was built in 1936 and holds historical significance for the city.

During the November 27th presentation, Christy Crites of CMT explained that the renovation was necessary for a number of reasons. She sited that the interior and exterior of the building are in poor repair. However, the exterior will not require a great deal of work to bring it back up to good condition. She noted that the building is sound, but there is some work such as some tuck pointing that needs to be done and the building needs a new roof.
 

She said that the building appears to be not large enough for the needs of the city. However, if the interior is gutted and a new floor plan implemented the building will provide sufficient space.

Most importantly, Crites said the building is not modern and lacks some very important safety features such as good ventilation. There are also no ADA approved restroom facilities and there are no separate restrooms for men and women.

Of these last concerns the issue of proper ventilation was what Crites marked as the most important. She said the Waste Treatment Plant staff work with sewerage samples that have to be cooked, and ventilation is necessary for the wellbeing of the workers.

Waste Treatment Manager Shawn Wright supported the first plan for a building renovation. He said that the building was built in 1936 and he would really like to see the structure preserved for that reason. Crites agreed that the structure was nice and significant, it just needed a little fixing up.

The second plan would call for the building to be torn down and a new structure built at the existing location. Crites said that would cost another $200,000 or more, and was a workable plan, but again the original 1936 building would be lost.

The third plan was to build an entirely new structure in a new location. This would cost the city more than $1 million. Crites said in addition to the cost, the problem with this plan was the underground pipes and other underground infrastructure. She said it would be very hard to find a spot within the existing waste treatment plant property where there was nothing buried underground.

Crites was asked if this project would fit into the city’s budget. She said that the cost of the renovation or whichever plan the city chose, could be incorporated into the bond issue or loan for the city’s Long Term Control Plan. She also noted that CMT had purposefully included the laboratory building in that overall project because the city would benefit from “large project” pricing from the contractors.

She was then asked if the cost of the laboratory had been considered when figuring the new sewerage rates that are designed to cover the costs of the loans for the LTCP. Crites said that the cost had been included at the highest estimate of just over $1 million. So, if the city chose a plan with a lesser cost, they would just be that much ahead.

Alderman Tracy Welch asked if there was contingency built into the cost estimates for unforeseen expenses.

Crites said there were contingencies within the plan and an extra $25,000 plugged in at the top of the cost.

Welch commented that the city had experienced many order changes in the renovation of the Lincoln Depot. While the Depot project did come in at budget, he was concerned about all the changes, and wanted to be sure the city was financially prepared for that in the future.

Crites commented that with any project, there are unknowns; issues that can’t be addressed ahead of time, because they can’t be seen ahead of time. She said that her firm works to allow extra money for such unforeseen costs. She also added that because the total cost of the laboratory had been estimated at the highest priced third option, if the city goes with either of the lesser cost options, they would have a lot of reserve in the overall budget.

Tying this topic into the sewerage rate structure, the city is expected to adopt a three year rate structure plan with the third year increases being optional. The sewerage rates will increase in 2019 and 2020. But the proposed rate adjustment for 2021 may be altered depending on the final cost of the LTCP. Dollars saved at the front end of the project will have an impact on that 2021 rate.

Monday evening, aldermen voted unanimously with no further discussion to approve the first option of renovating the existing building at an estimated cost of $520,000.

[Nila Smith]