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WEIMAR – A sizable grant used for construction on street improvements could have potentially led to Weimar hurting their opportunity for future funding as abandoned gas lines from CenterPoint prevented contractors from fulfilling the construction by their set deadline. However, with a new agreement in place, CenterPoint seems to be ready to remove those lines and help the town move forward with their planned improvements.
The proposed construction on St. Andrews Street and Eagle Street on the north side of North Street was planned early in the year after the city received a $306,000 state grant to help them complete the project. Strand Associates was hired to oversee the project while WJC Constructors won the bid to complete the project.
However, on the initial survey, many of the utilities underneath these roads such as the water lines and gas lines were too close to the surface for the contractor to comfortably dig into the roads. The issue was that many of those lines were grandfathered in from an early installment as there have been several changes in protocol and standards since. For example, the sewer pipe running down the middle of the project roads was made of clay, rather than the currently accepted material, PVC.
At a special city council meeting on Dec. 21, 2023, the contractor expressed their concerns with the proposed construction and claimed that it was very likely the existing utilities would be damaged. In the meeting, City Attorney Carl “Bo” Dawson rebutted with his own concern that the road was being replaced without also improving the underground utilities that run along the street.
This difficulty left the council with two options at that meeting: either amend the proposed location of the water and sewer lines or terminate the contract and pay all the fees initially handled by the accepted grant.
Each option had its own issues as the street did not have enough width to amend the location of the lines without needing to move the electrical poles that also populate the road, and terminating a project funded with grant money is noted for the next grant application Weimar submits to the state.
The topic was tabled and saved for their first meeting of 2024 on Jan. 11 where they rediscussed the issue and pondered the merits of a third option, extending the February deadline and potentially finding a solution to their difficulties during that time frame.
On the suggestion of GrantWorks representative Sam Lilly, the city requested a project deadline extension and amended the scope of the project to just North Eagle Street for a total replacement, including utility lines. Lilly advised the council that cancelling the project outright or not completing it by the deadline without an extension would affect the town’s ability to request grants for the next three cycles. With the motion accepted, the city terminated their current contract with WJC as new bids for the amended project were sought at that time.
At the March 14 meeting, the council discussed the renewal of the town’s Franchise Agreement with the company. Part of the new agreement would increase the rate to 5% from its previous mark at 2%.
Councilman Steven Helmcamp requested that the council look into potentially adding a clause into the agreement to have CenterPoint remove the abandoned gas lines they initially installed and left behind. Dawson expressed concern with the willingness of Center-Point to remove the lines, stating that they were “reluctant” to commit to that task in their meeting with City Manager Richard Whitten and City Secretary Dolores Stoever.
The item passed with no action, but on Helmcamp’s request with the agreement of the other councilmembers, Dawson negotiated a new agreement with CenterPoint that would include the requested gas line removal. While the amended agreement could not be officially accepted at the April 11 regular meeting, Mayor Milton Koller tabled the item for the upcoming May meeting on May 14 where it is likely that the city will accept and approve the proposed agreement.
With CenterPoint’s willingness to remove the abandoned gas lines, this potentially opens the way for Weimar to complete their initially planned projects in the future.
