BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Design of Starke’s wastewater extension is set to begin following recent contract approval with Woodward and Curran, which has an ongoing engineering services contract with the city.
Questions about progress of the project were recently raised by the county, which has committed $4 million in pandemic relief funding to help the city expand its utilities to a mixed residential and commercial development proposed at the intersection of the bypass and State Road 16.
Woodward and Curran has also worked on the extension of water lines, the final designs for which have been submitted to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Earlier this month, the commission approved a contract with Woodward and Curran to design the wastewater force \main extension upstream along State Road 16 and Weldon Road at a cost of $400,000. This includes preliminary and final designs, permitting and providing the construction bid documents.
A second contract completing the connection down Orange Street to the wastewater treatment plant as well as rehabilitation and upgrade of the Saratoga Heights lift station was approved. The amount was also $400,000.
The wastewater project is being handled as separate tasks. According to the engineers, the first task “will amend the city of Starke water system upgrades drawings by adding a force main, including pipes, valves, fittings, appurtenances, and connections, to the project. The force main will run on State Highway 16 from approximately 3,300 feet north of US Highway 301 (the bypass) to the intersection of State Highway 16 and West Weldon Road, then on West Weldon Road from State Highway 16 to Orange Street. The total length of the force main will be approximately 12,500 feet.
“Task 2 of the project, to be designed and constructed under a separate scope of work and a separate construction project, will include the design of a force main on Orange Street from West Weldon to the Starke Wastewater Treatment Facility, a distance of approximately 5,400 feet. The design and construction of the force main will include a railroad crossing. In addition to the force main on Orange Street, the project will include rehabilitation of the existing Saratoga Heights lift station on Todd Road, including replumbing of the lift station so that the discharge of the pumps connects to the existing force main on Todd Road and West Weldon Street.”
According to the resolution approving the contract, this second task will be completed within 12 months of the notice to proceed.
In other business:
—Starke entered a contract with Cross Environmental Services for the removal of lead-based paint and asbestos from the RJE Complex for $199,300.
