Telegraph Editor
Starke received good news about the progress of its multimillion dollar wastewater treatment plant upgrade project last week.
Justin deMello of Woodward and Curran said the project is both on time and on budget.
After years of planning and engineering, and multiple asks of the USDA for funding, the project has progressed to construction.
There is a long lead time for certain essential items that have been purchased, and news about materials and deliver have led to some nervousness.
“But you know, worst case, they’ll get up to a point where they’ve got to stop work until that stuff comes in. But right now, all systems are go,” deMello said.
Woodward and Curran assumed operation of the wastewater treatment plant several months ago, and the plant is now fully staffed.
“You’ve got a great project manager out of Gainesville that came over, Chris Russell, if you have the opportunity to meet him. Really just a sharp utility mind. Really a great add, not only for the city, but for Woodward and Curran,” he said.
In building his team, Russell has rehired employees who left the city during the transition.
“They came back within a couple of weeks, and they’re thriving under the new leadership that is there,” deMello said.
City Manager Drew Mullins said management of the wastewater treatment plant is the best it has ever been and operations continue to improve every month.
The city also has the support of the company’s regional team who can offer assistance, as with the recent water outage.
As for the first phase of the collection system, deMello said it got off to a slow start.
“The contractor was dragging his feet a little bit,” he said, but things have shifted and are heading in the right direction.
