BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — A month ago, the city of Starke’s wastewater treatment plant was $6 million over budget. City Manager Drew Mullins recently announced that USDA has agreed to make up the difference.
The sewer plant requires upgrades to, among other things, meet higher environmental standards for its effluent.
USDA previously awarded the city a $9.63 million grant and $10.68 million loan to fund planning and construction. The city’s lowest construction bid came in at $23.36 million. That is on top of the millions already spent on planning and design.
The city had to approach USDA again, knowing it was unable to take on any additional debt for the project. Customers’ bills have already increased in anticipation of the $10-plus million that must be repaid over many years.
City Clerk Jimmy Crosby acknowledged Mary Gavin with Rural Community Assistance Project, Justin deMello with engineers Woodward and Curran, city attorney Clay Martin, Finance Director James Hughes and Mullins for their diligent work. They were working up to an important deadline, he said.
“I can’t express enough the appreciation on behalf of the city for having gotten that done,” Crosby said.
Mullins said the clerk’s list left out one individual — the clerk himself.
The commission approved a resolution amending its agreement with USDA.
The city will be able to move on with construction once an agreement with bidder PWC Joint Venture is approved.
The commission has awarded the construction bid for the wastewater collection system upgrade and rehabilitation project to All Terrain Tractor Service of Sanford. They were the lone respondent, submitting a bid of $5.8 million for the project. Their prior referenced projects include a storm tech system in Orlando, a sewer lift station at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport and elementary school stormwater drain system in Deland.
The project includes replacing or relining pipes in the city’s aging sewer system. The source of funding is the State Revolving Fund, which is providing it as a 90% grant and 10% loan.
A separate $1.6 million project to relocate the Call Street lift station was approved as well. The successful bidder, Advantage Construction Group of Middleburg, was also the only bidder. Moving the station approximately 400 feet is expected to improve hydraulics. On Nov. 15, the commission took the first step in a possible eminent domain action, declaring a public need for the property where the new lift station will be constructed.
Tom Jenkins Electrical Service of Lake Butler will provide SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) upgrades at all the city’s lift stations. They bid $283,250 for the project.
Each of these projects is aimed at satisfying the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s consent orders against the city. The city has been cited for multiple system failures resulting in stormwater infiltration and raw sewage spills.
