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Friday, September 3, 2010 | Serving Del Rio and Val Verde County: Since 1929
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Planned city projects reviewed
Published July 3, 2010
First of a series
Replacement of aging water distribution lines and construction of a new cell at the city’s landfill topped the list of planned capital improvement projects reviewed by city council members during a special meeting Wednesday.
“These are the projects that are needing funding for this fiscal year,” City Manager Frances Rodriguez told the council before asking City Engineer Robert Parker to give the council an overview of each of the projects.
The first project on Parker’s list was the construction of Cell No. 5 at the city landfill.
“Our current Cell No. 4 is rapidly filling up. . . We have already done the RFQ, the request for qualifications for the consultant. We already have the responses in, and we will be making our selection on that very soon,” Parker said.
Parker told the council the design of the new landfill cell is estimated to cost $50,000. Actual construction of the new cell is estimated at $650,000, he said.
Another landfill project Parker discussed with the council is the final closure of Cells No. 1, 2 and 3 and Subtitle D.
Parker noted that design and construction management for the cell closure project is estimated at $130,000, and the estimated cost of the actual closure is estimated at $510,000.
Parker told the council possible funding for the two projects could come from certificates of obligation and from existing reserves in the city’s refuse fund.
Next, Parker reviewed contracted and in-house work on the city’s water and wastewater distribution lines.
“We’ve been approved for a large loan fund from the Texas Water Development Board. We’ve been granted permission to move forward with $10 million for replacement of aging water infrastructure, and this is a project that has been long needed,” Parker said.
Parker asked Jesse Velasquez, assistant public works director, to discuss the water line replacement project with the council.
Velasquez showed the council a map prepared by the city’s consultants on the project that showed in various colors the water lines most in need of replacement.
Velasquez briefly reviewed his 2003 investigation into the city’s chronic water leak problem.
Velasquez said he quickly learned that the leaks were due to the aging infrastructure of the city’s water distribution system.
“Our infrastructure was irreparable. I determined that about 80-85 percent of our infrastructure needed to be replaced,” Velasquez said.
Velasquez said the $10 million loan from the Texas Water Development Board will allow the city to replace an estimated 18.7 miles of the most critically needed water distribution lines.
Velasquez said the city will need to continue replacing water distribution infrastructure for the next 20 to 25 years.
“(The system) has been neglected for years. . . Something needs to be done immediately,” Velasquez told the council.
Councilman Fred Contreras asked Velasquez in which areas of Del Rio the project will begin.
Velasquez said the city will begin the project by replacing water distribution lines in an area northwest of Gibbs Street and an area of San Felipe around Brown Plaza southwest of Gibbs Street.
When Mayor Roberto “Bobby” Fernandez asked about the TWDB loan that will be used to pay for the project, Rodriguez said the term of the TWDB loan is for 30 years at an interest rate of 4.34 percent.
Fernandez also asked about the additional work and cost involved in redoing sewer and gas lines and repaving the streets in the areas in which the water lines will be replaced, since only the cost of replacing the water lines is covered by the TWDB loan.
“. . . our plan is to do the sewer lines alongside this project and our engineer, Mr. Hector Canales, will be designing the sewer (line) part, instead of us contracting it out,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the cost of the work on the sewer lines is estimated at $14 million, and said the project will also have to be completed in phases over a period of three to four years.
The city manager said paving would be handled in a similar matter, paid for and carried out over a period of years.
Rodriguez said one of the questions city staff will need the council to answer is how to pay for the paving.
She said an increase in water rates earlier this year will allow the city to repay the $10 million TWDB loan and revenues from the wastewater system will pay for replacement of those lines.
“The paving is the one that is tax-supported debt,” she said.
Fernandez asked Rodriguez and the rest of the city staff for specific breakdowns of the work planned for each phase of the line replacement project and the costs of each, “so we can have a clearer picture of how each phase is going to come together.”
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Sunday: Further capital improvements planned for the city.
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