17 - WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT ENGINEERINGItem No. 17
memorandum
TO: Mayor & City Council
FROM: John Godwin, City Manager
SUBJECT: WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT ENGINEERING
DATE: January 15, 2016
BACKGROUND: Following is a timeline of steps taken in selecting an engineering firm to
assist the city in beginning the process of rehabilitating the existing wastewater treatment plant:
1. September 2013 — requests for Statements of Qualifications were advertised, published
on the City of Paris website, and direct mailed to fifteen (15) engineering firms.
2. October 2013 — four (4) firms submitted their qualifications for consideration; these were
Carollo Engineers, Inc., Garver USA, Hazen and Sawyer, P.C., and HDR Engineering.
3. November 2013 — an initial review of each firm's qualifications was performed by the
evaluation team comprised of the director of utilities, city engineer, WWTP superin-
tendent, and city manager.
4. December 2013 — based upon qualifications, the evaluation team selected Carollo,
Garver, and HDR as firms to be considered for the project.
5. April 2014 — each firm made presentations to the evaluation team regarding qualifications
and experience.
6. May 2014 through July 2014 — wastewater treatment facilities designed by each firm
were toured and evaluated by the WWTP superintendent and utilities director, including
peer -to -peer discussion with personnel at each facility; site visits included treatment
plants in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, California and Iowa.
7. October 2014 — evaluations were completed by the evaluation team; following thorough
consideration, Garver, partnered with Freese & Nichols, Inc. and Hayter Engineering,
Inc., was selected as the preferred firm for the project.
8. November 2014 — a Memorandum of Understanding was executed between the City of
Paris and Garver, following city council approval.
9. December 2014 — the director of utilities, Garver and Freese & Nichols met in Austin
with the Texas Water Development Board to explore funding options for rehabilitation of
the Paris wastewater treatment facility.
10. January 2015 — Garver was introduced to the Paris City Council as the preferred
engineering firm for the wastewater facility rehabilitation project.
11. August 2015 — Garver participated in meetings with the city and board member Kathleen
Jackson.
STATUS OF ISSUE: As we have discussed for many years the WWTP is very old, very
inefficient, and in need of complete rehabilitation and some component replacements. Following
a rigorous and thorough review and vetting process, Garver USA has been working with us for
over a year on this project. Garver will be partnering with Freese & Nichols and with Hayter
Engineering to complete the required work. This is a multi -year project, so it is very important
to begin now. This first phase will take very many months alone; complete engineering work
will likely take 18 -24 months, and construction two to four years more. We cannot wait until
things get even worse or the state steps in and requires us to act under threat of significant fines.
Work needs to begin in 2016 and Garver is the best choice to do that work.
BUDGET: Funding of up to $320,000.00 is included in the adopted 2015 -16 budget.
RECOMMENDATION: Approve Garver USA to provide the professional engineering services
required to complete conceptual design of the city's wastewater treatment facility rehabilitation.