PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend City Council has unanimously approved a design contract with Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. for wastewater facility repairs.
The council agreed during its Monday night meeting to allow City Manager John Mauro to sign the contract for Jacobs Engineering for the design of the Gaines Street Lift Station Upgrade and Corrosion Mitigation project.
The Gaines Street lift station, located at the intersection of Water and Gaines streets near the Port Townsend waterfront, is described in council documents as a critical infrastructure facility for the wastewater utility.
The lift station pumps all of the wastewater from downtown, Uptown and Morgan Hill to the treatment plant on Kuhn Street.
Funds of $220,445 for the design were already included in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget.
However, the design is under budget with an expenditure of $132,000, documents said.
The total project budget is estimated to be about $695,000.
City staff expects work on improvements to begin in 2021, documents said.
The pump station was rebuilt about 20 years ago. Portions of the interior concrete walls have since seriously corroded.
A study was conducted by Jacobs Engineering in 2019 to assess repair and upgrade options.
The preferred option is a new liner, which would provide a long-term fix for the facility, documents said.
“This is just taking [this project] to the next step,” said Steve King, public works director, “so we can issue the construction documents for bidding and move this project along.”
One of the questions raised by council member Pam Adams asked if the damage was caused by the storm surge about two years ago. However, King said he was not aware of any specific damage caused by the storms.
The full resolution and council discussion can be viewed at tinyurl.com/PDN-GainesStreet.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached by email at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com or by phone at 360-385-2335, ext. 5.
