High Springs Awards $8.9M Contract for Wastewater Plant Project

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The Jan. 26, 2023 High Springs City Commission meeting was held at the Civic Center as the City Hall elevator was being replaced. It is expected that the Feb. 9 City Commission meeting will be held at City Hall.

The Commission considered four issues at Thursday night’s meeting, including approving a handicap accessibility self-evaluation plan, a transition plan for handicap accessibility and a Section 504 Grievance Procedure of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The purpose of the plans is to have all publicly accessible City owned facilities made handicap accessible.

The Commission awarded a $8,950,249 contract for Phase 1 of the wastewater treatment plant facility and infiltrative wetlands project. The contract was awarded to SGS Contracting Services, Inc.

The City plans to use $6,116,658 from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection/Suwannee River Water Management District grant, $1,040,000 from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, $960,000 in existing impact fees and new development impact fees or City Contingency funds of $833,591.

The City’s engineer, Mittauer & Associates, and City staff recommended removing Phase 2 Wetlands in order for the City to seek additional grant funding while the Wastewater Treatment Plant is under construction. The City made modifications to materials based on availability and budget that have already reduced the Phase 2 amount by $529,702.

High Springs is looking to ramp up interest in the Mayor’s Youth Council and explore ways to increase more applications by interested students. An online application is available on the City’s web page for High Springs students. Staff will be implementing some of the suggestions in an effort to attract more applicants.

Once several applications are received, the item will be placed on the agenda for the City Commission to choose students to serve on the Council.

In another business, Commissioners unanimously agreed to purchase six generators for City lift stations that do not currently have one. Lift stations are used to move wastewater from lower to higher elevations. ARPA funds will cover the cost of $495,000 for the generators. Once the generators are installed, every lift station will have a generator. Each generator will be powered by natural gas to guarantee the generators will continue to work even in a power outage.

The City’s current waste provider appears to be on the chopping block. Complaints about poor trash and recycling services have mounted to the point where Commissioners directed the City Attorney and staff to work together to terminate the current waste provider, Green for Life. City staff is working to provide options for a new provider as soon as possible.

The City is embarking on a planned road repaving project. The roads that are going to be paved will be milled first to prepare them for paving. After all of the roads have been milled, paving will occur.

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