Hollister
– The construction of Hollister’s new wastewater treatment plant
is still on schedule, city officials say.
Hollister – The construction of Hollister’s new wastewater treatment plant is still on schedule, city officials say.
A few months ago, the construction site consisted of little more than several large holes in the ground, but it’s become a maze of concrete and rebar.
“Now it’s actually looking like something,” City Engineering Manager Steve Wittry said.
Construction firm C. Overaa and Company is about to finish work on the biggest part of the project, processing tanks 25 feet deep, Wittry said. Construction could have taken as long as a year and a half, but Overaa will complete the tanks in eight months.
The city needs to complete the wastewater treatment project – which includes the plant, seasonal storage ponds and sprayfields where treated wastewater will be disposed – before the state lifts Hollister’s building moratorium, which began in 2002.
The treatment plant was originally scheduled to finish in October 2005, but construction didn’t begin until December 2006. The plant is now scheduled to open by December 2008.
Wittry estimated that plant construction is 35 percent complete.
“They’re doing better than we thought,” he said. “They should have no problem getting done by the end of ’08.”
Wittry said one big reason for Overaa’s rapid pace is the company’s willingness to put plenty of workers on the site. Project superintendent Bud Malpass said there are normally more than 60 people working on any given day, and that number will probably increase in the coming weeks.
The wastewater project is being funded by bonds that will be repaid by development impact fees and increased sewer rates. If the project comes in under budget, those savings will be passed on to Hollister residents, City Councilman Doug Emerson said.
“I think we’ve got an obligation to reduce those rates if we can,” he said.
Some Hollister residents have said they’re skeptical the project will be finished on time, and Malpass has encountered that skepticism himself.
“People ask me, ‘When are you going to start?'” he said.
Malpass speculated that much of the progress has been invisible from Highway 156. But as more structures go up, people will realize things are moving ahead, he said.
To help convince locals the city is making progress, Overaa will be hosting tours of the site from 2-6pm July 27.
Emerson took a similar tour several weeks ago. He said he was impressed by what he saw, particularly the treatment tanks.
“You didn’t realize the magnitude of the thing until you go down inside,” Emerson said.
On Monday, the project’s second phase was delayed when the City Council voted to reject the five construction bids and readvertise construction of the storage ponds. Wittry said new bids were necessary because of several misunderstandings between the city and the bidding companies. The most significant disagreement was the fate of the 190,000 square yards of dirt unearthed for the ponds.
When asked how the city will avoid similar mix-ups when building the sprayfields, Wittry said, “Those issues are going to be better addressed in pre-bid meetings.”
Emerson said he wasn’t disconcerted by the delay.
“We’ve got a huge project,” he said. “There are going to be little mistakes on the road.”
