Sparta Mayor and Aldermen approved a $1.17 million bid Thursday night to rehab sewers.
Sparta Mayor Jerry Lowery said the sewers have seen excess rain water in the system during periods of heavy rain. Lowery said the city has been under a sewer moratorium since he’s been in office, and millions of dollars have since been spent on repairs.
“This is some of this big projects, that we’re trying to keep the sewer system in good shame and keep it continually repaired,” Lowery said. “And it’s stuff that people don’t see but it’s, you see it if we don’t do it. Let’s say that.”
City Administrator Tonya Tindle said American Rescue funds will pay for the work. That COVID money must be spent by 2026.
Tindle said CDBG money will also help fund the project. She said the city will likely have to contribute some $650,000 from reserves.
The bid was awarded to John T. Hall Construction. The bids for the project initially both came in at over $2 million. Tindle said the city could not afford that, so a priority list was assembled for the lower bid. Tindle presented the list at the meeting.
Tindle said the list was based on what repairs were needed the most, after review from the Public Works Department.
The city did smoke tests to locate the holes in the system. Lowery said lots of water was entering through manholes on Highway 111. Other leaks were found near the T-DOT building and around Town Creek Street.
“Once we get the holes taken care of and get the pump stations up to handle, can handle x-amount of water, things like that, we’ll be good,” Lowery said. “We’re making great progress and T-DEC has been great with working with us.”
In other business, the Aldermen approved the purchase of a $116,000 Jet-Vac trailer for the water department. The machine is meant to help clean the sewer lines. Lowery said the machine was impressive, and it would save the department lots of time and effort in line maintaince.
The Aldermen approved the purchase of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck for the Street Department, as well as a Mack semi-truck for the Sanitation Department.
The Alderman passed an ordinance to adopt the drought management plan on second reading.
A resolution was passed to promote safety and intended use of city parks and parking lots. Tindle said there have been issues with people misusing the parking lots, so the resolution will enable law enforcement to put an end to any problems.
