By Jon Johnson
PIMA—The town of Pima turned to the private sector to find a solution for funding a sewer project from the new high school and received half the government’s contracted quote for the project.
Under the umbrella of the school’s construction project, the cost to construct a new pipeline that heads north from the school directly into the town’s lift station at its sewer ponds on the other side of Ash Creek was previously quoted at $3.4 million. However, the school was only allocated $1.7 million for its sewer. And upon further inspection, a pipeline from the school to the sewer pond would require a new lift station at the sewer pond, as it will be too low under Ash Creek to meet up with the current one at that location.
At its February meeting, after Pima Town Manager Vernon Batty informed the council of its options, the council voted 4-1 to approve up to $500,000 in expenditure for the sewer expansion project. Councilperson Georgia Luster voted in opposition.
On Tuesday, Batty returned with updated project plans and costs from the private sector. The first quote was for $1.7 million. Then Batty said he received a quote from Bowman Consulting — a trusted, multidisciplinary consulting firm offering a broad range of real estate, energy, infrastructure, and environmental management solutions to public and private clients nationwide, with an office in Safford — for $1.5 million.
Since that quote is less than the school has allocated for the project, it looks fully funded. And with the previously approved $500,000 from the town, Pima can construct a new lift station for $350,000 to $400,000 on the east side of Ash Creek with a larger 15-inch line into the new lift station that runs into its sewer pond. That would also allow for the eventual retirement of the current lift station, as the town would route that pipe into the new lift station.
According to Batty, routing existing lines into the newly proposed lift station will also help the new line run correctly by providing enough volume.
The town is still waiting on Bowman’s final engineering plans. After that, it will proceed with procurement and present contracts to the council for approval. Batty said the project could be completed by September or October if all goes smoothly.
That won’t meet the timeline for the school opening in August, however, and the school’s backup plan is to pump the waste and empty it into a manhole that leads to the sewer until the new sewer line is complete. According to Batty, the school has received approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).
In other town news:
• The council directed Town Manager Vernon Batty to proceed with refurbishing the existing “Welcome to Pima” billboard on the west side of town. The town will reinforce the billboard and then add a new welcome sign featuring an aerial photograph of the town with Mount Graham in the background. Batty advised that the total cost for the project would likely be $3,000 to $4,000 due to having to reinforce the sign.
• The council welcomed Joe Carpenter as the town’s new building inspector. Carpenter previously retired from the same position for Graham County. The position is part-time, and Batty said the town was “very lucky to have him.”
• Batty gave an update on the Pima Pool and said that resurfacing by CDC Pools went well and that the pool was refilled and properly sanitized just in time for the first pool party of the season. The resurfacing was paid for by part of an Arizona State Parks grant.
• Batty advised that he has hired Ferrin’s Roofing to replace the roof for Pima Town Hall. According to Batty, Ferrin’s was the cheapest quote at about $18,000. “It’ll be nice to have that finished,” Batty said.
