Bertram spending last of grant money on water utility projects
BERTRAM — Facing a tight deadline to “use it or lose it,” City Council members unanimously voted to spend the remaining $15,900 of a 2011 grant on two water utility projects.
The council awarded the low bids to Hoover Construction of Burnet for a total of $17,191.81 — which includes some city funds — for a 2-inch bulk-water connection line at the city’s utility office and a 4-inch turbine meter to gauge the amount of water that reaches the city.
The council had four projects to consider using the remaining funds, and chose to spend an additional $1,246 from the city’s utility fund for the water line and turbine meter on engineer John Bartle’s recommendation.
“It’s like leveraging $17,000 in improvements with just $1,200,” said Bartle, who is with Neptune-Wilkinson Associates Inc. of Austin. “I think both items would be beneficial to the city.”
The funds remain from a $275,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Texas Department of Agriculture that paid for the installation of a new water main across Texas 29 to the north side of town.
The remaining money has to be spent by Sept. 14 or else the city loses the funds. The bid requests specified that the work has to be finished by the deadline.
Chris Walker, director of utilities, said the $4,658 connection line will help with a recent ordinance that says bulk water customers must purchases from the city utility office.
“Instead of getting water wherever you wanted to, you’re required to come to (the water utility) office,” Walker said.
The more expensive of the two items, the $12,533 meter, will allow Walker to determine how much water reaches the city.
Officials know how much water is pumped from the wells and how much is sold, but the meter will help determine the amount that actually flows into the city.
“I want to know what we’re missing,” Walker said.