Mayor’s Corner

Good Morning Wimberley.

While I am encouraged by new members of the Council to explore improvements to the sewer collection system, I am concerned that this may cause even more delays and further increase the cost to a utility that is already less than affordable.

At the last council meeting there was discussion about finding an alternate location to bore across the Cypress Creek. The upside to this would be crossing at a place further away from the park and at a narrower expanse; thus potentially lowering the risk of exposure to potential environmental issues. The downside to this is that it will further delay the progress and add substantially to the cost. Here’s why, if we were to change the bore location, we would need the following items to submit to the Texas Water Development Board (our financier of the project):

• A copy of an executed change order with the supporting design documents (revisions to plan sheets and specifications (P&S)); OR

• If the proposed work would be bid as a separate construction contract, then they would need to review and approve the design documents (contract documents, P&S) prior to bidding – the Clean Water State Revolving Funds, CWSRF program rules would apply;

AND:

• Assurance that all applicable permits have or will be obtained;

• A site certificate (ED-101) certifying that the City has right to construct on the property;

• An updated project budget;

• An updated project schedule (estimated completion date);

• If additional funds are necessary to complete the project (i.e. additional local and/or other funding), then a sufficiency of funds statement would be needed.

The change order or new contract documents should provide a clear description of the proposed work. Additionally, the engineering review would follow the environmental review which could take weeks.

Furthermore, if approved there is the additional cost. Unfortunately, because of months of rhetoric against Aqua Texas they are less willing to meet us at the crossing at their expense. The city would have to also acquire all easements from private property owners along the new path down Mill Race Lane. We would have to bear the entire cost to lay the line and repave the surface in order to take it further up to AT’s force pump near HEB. Depending on that path we would have to also coordinate with TXDOT for applicable permits. By the way, we still do not have TXDOT’s permitting for the crossing at RR12 and 3237 which was filed last summer 2018.

Please encourage your new council representatives to stay the course and focus on getting this project done sooner than later. Time and change are always expensive.

Editor’s Note: The views expressed by the writer are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the city they serve.