By Staff Reports
Branch Civil Inc. will need lots of water to complete construction and widen approximately 7.4 miles of U.S. 58, according to Stuart Town Manager Terry Tilley.
Branch and its two subcontractors would be using approximately 10,000 to 20,000 gallons of water a day to complete grading for the project, Tilley told members of the Stuart Town Council.
“They are going to need quite a bit of water for the water trucks once they start grading to keep the dust down,” Tilley said, adding the town will provide the water.
Construction is expected to take about five years, meaning the town will have an additional water customer for that duration of time.
Tilley said that grading will likely begin at the end of August and the contractors would be charged out-of-town rates on their water bill.
“It’s great, we needed a water customer,” Mayor Ray Weiland said. “We’ve got plenty of capacity and we can fill them up. I’m glad they are going to need our water. We will make all that they need.”
But a piece of equipment was needed, Tilley said.
“I told them that we have a water meter, what we call a hydrometer, that we put on the hydrants so we can keep up with how many gallons, so we can be more accountable for what we are using,” Tilley said, and explained “we don’t have but one.”
To meet the demand, Tilley requested that the town council approve the purchase of another hydrometer, which he said cost about $1,200 each.
Tilley said that the contractors indicated they would be interested in paying a monthly fee to use the town’s hydrometer.
“At $50 a month, it’ll take two years to pay off a $1,200 meter,” Town Attorney Christopher Corbett said. “If it wears out by that time then they are still paying $50 a month extra and we get another water meter. In the meantime, they are paying for what they get.”
Weiland recommended purchasing 2-3 meters in case the contractors have multiple trucks running simultaneously, which would require the use of extra hydrants.
Branch “has two water trucks and they have two subcontractors, and they have a water truck a piece,” Tilley said. “There are about 2,000 gallons on each truck.”
Tilley said he would prefer for the trucks to fill up at Hutchens Petroleum.
“We’ve got a tank up there and it’s a 300,000-gallon tank and we keep it about half full,” Tilley said. “We can fill it up if they are going to start using quite a bit of water and we will keep that water turned over because the chlorine will dissipate out of it if you let it sit long. I’d rather use that, and then we don’t pull anything off of the town.”
At a maximum capacity, Tilley said that 2,000 gallons would fill up from the tank in about five minutes.
The council agreed to purchase two new hydrometers and to charge the contractors $50 a month for use of the meters in addition to their water bill.
In other matters, the council:
*Heard from Kurt Bozenmeyer, of the Patrick County Music Association, regarding the town council’s continued financial support for community events organized by the association.
*Heard an update from Tilley on renovations at the Water Treatment Plant. Tilley said he hopes the project will be completed by the end of August. He indicated that he would like to stay on past his original retirement date, if necessary, to see the project to its completion.
*Passed a motion 5-1 to use $8,000 from the current town budget to help Patrick County pay for excess costs related to the installation of a drainage culvert near the town limits. Weiland said the initial cost for the project was about $50,000, but the final construction costs came in $16,000 higher than initially expected. Council Member Dean Goad voted against the motion.
*Said farewell to Council Member John “Mac” Deekens, who attended his final meeting before moving to Williamsburg to be closer to family.
“It’s been a real pleasure, all of it,” Deekens said. “It’s been an interesting experience and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to do it. I know everything is in good hands. I think my wife put it pretty well. We are not excited about leaving Stuart and Patrick County, but we are excited about where we are going.”
