Replacing the water and sewer lines in the Pleasant Acres neighborhood was initially estimated to cost $600,000 and take 90 days of construction.
It cost more than $1 million and took more than a year and a half, but the Starkville Utilities Department has all but completed the project and only has to do some finishing work, general manager Terry Kemp told the board of aldermen at its Friday work session.
“All the infrastructure is in place,” Kemp said. “It’s accomplished and we feel real good about it.”
Pleasant Acres was the first of three projects the city planned in 2018 to replace water and sewer infrastructure in Starkville that dates back to the 1950s and 1960s. The projects will replace the aging metal pipes with larger PVC pipes that will increase capacity.
Pleasant Acres has about 100 homes in a subdivision just south of Highway 12 and west of South Montgomery Street. Work began in October 2018 and was initially expected to be complete in January 2019.
Heavy and frequent rainfall caused extensive delays, and Kemp told The Dispatch last year the decision to install the sewer lines at a greater depth than they were originally also extended the work schedule. He said Friday that the department in the future will create more detailed plans in advance of a project like Pleasant Acres.
Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker, who represents Pleasant Acres, said he is confident that the process will be improved and easier for future projects.
“I’m very pleased for the citizens’ and the board’s support of Pleasant Acres,” Walker said. “While it’s a small subdivision, we had major infrastructure challenges over there that needed to be addressed.”
Green Oaks is the next neighborhood on the schedule, followed by Rolling Hills. Kemp said Green Oaks “is a much larger project” than Pleasant Acres, but it has better capacity and the pipes are at the right depth. The project is estimated to cost $2.4 million, while the Rolling Hills project should cost about $900,000.
The city will request authorization to advertise for bids for the northern half of the Green Oaks sewer system, which will total 20,000 feet of pipes, at Tuesday’s meeting. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will fund much of the northwest portion, which is the area in the most need of sewer line replacement, Kemp said.
“With a different approach (than Pleasant Acres) but the same result when we get through it, the neighborhood will probably still have a system that’s good for another 70 years,” Kemp said.
Work on the northern half can begin this summer and be finished in about a year, he said.
The city raised some sewer and water rates in July 2018 to fund the three large-scale replacement projects, estimating the increases would produce an additional $1.7 million per year — about $900,000 for water and sewer improvements and $800,000 per year for the city’s lagoon, which has reached full capacity.
The planned addition to the wastewater plant on Sand Road to sustainably handle sludge will be completed this fall, Kemp told the board. The new equipment will take sludge and turn it into what is essentially dirt that can be used for growing plants.
Aldermen approved a $10 million bond issue for the project in April 2019, and Kemp said the project will cost about $9 million. The city will maintain the lagoon and use it as emergency backup.
The city will request authorization on Tuesday to advertise for bids for the expansion of Starkville Utilities’ current electric division building at the intersection of Highways 82 and 182. The $1.3 million addition of about 10,000 square feet will allow all employees at the current water division building on North Washington Street to move into the renovated building so the department can consolidate most of its operations into one location.
Construction of a new, $8 million electric substation in southwest Starkville is still expected to be complete in the fall after eight years of planning, Kemp said, and it will “have a significant positive impact on maintaining the reliability our customers need.”
The utilities department’s projects are one example of the current city administration’s ability to plan well for the long term, Mayor Lynn Spruill said.
“From the wastewater and water and electric standpoints, we are poised for any growth that comes our way, and I think that’s really one of those things that y’all can be proud of,” she said.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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