Pleasanton officials await report on water plant
- Roger Sims, Journal Staff
- 20 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Roger Sims, Journal staff
PLEASANTON – It is too early to tell what the results of the inspection by an engineer and architect of the Pleasanton water plant on Wednesday, Feb. 5, will be. Representatives of BG Consultants inspected the plant, but they weren’t ready to comment yet on their recommendation to city officials, according to Pleasanton Mayor Mathew Young.
At the city council meeting on Monday, Feb. 2, Young said that the council – and city residents – should wait until the report is made public before jumping to conclusions.
City officials hope that their report will give city officials a clearer picture of how to proceed with dealing with both a structurally unsound building and the inner workings of a plant that has not been updated in years.
City Administrator Becky Hegwald said she hoped that the BG Consultants report would be received before the council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
An onsite visit by the city council at its Jan. 19 meeting gave the council a firsthand view of structural problems with the roof and supporting framing. The roof covers the water plant’s filtration system, and because of structural problems with the roof, a wall has pushed out as well.
In an email to city administrator Becky Hegwald on Jan. 11, Travis Needham placed the cost to make repairs to the structure between $100,000 and $150,000.
In his email, Needham outlined the repairs that needed to be made, including jacking up a a beam and reworking supports including a concrete pad underneath the bowed section. He said that the beam across the center had sunk about 8 inches over the years.
He suggested once the beam was straight again, workers could enter the attic area and reinforce the trusses with 2x6s before applying a new shingle roof. He also said that there were walls that were bowed, likely because of the sagging roof. He said the repairs could add 10 years to the life of the building.
One problem he pointed out was that the work would have to be performed over the plant’s filtration system, which could compromise the water quality.
In an email dated Jan. 17, Needham went further.
“Overall the entire building needs to be demolished and a new building built,” he wrote. “This would include all new tanks, components, electrical and plumbing. Cost for this to be completed will be several million dollars to bring the facility fully operational.
“The current building is approximatly 55 years old. Due to the moisture present at all times with added humidity and water filtration etc., the masonry block building has deteriorated and needs to be replaced. There are cracks present across all walls.”
“It is my personal opinion that the water treatment building has exceeded its useable life span and needs to be replaced,” Needham wrote. “The building has became a liability for those working inside and possibly a liability for the water supply.
“When the building collapses the city will be without water for 30+ days while construction
takes place to run a new line from an additional water supply,” he added. “I recommend the City of Pleasanton hook into another water supply as soon as possible to keep the residents water flowing.”
Needham estimated it would cost from $4 million to $6 million to completely replace the plant.
At the Monday meeting, Council President Rochelle Schreckhise asked why the deterioration of the water plant was only coming to light now. She said that when she was first elected to the council four years ago, the plant had seemed to be in good shape.
There has been some discussion about addressing the problem with the roof for the past couple of months, but it wasn’t until the council toured the facility after receiving Needham's email that the council moved the water plant forward on the list of critical issues.
However, there was no clear answer to her question.
Schreckhise is the only official who has served on the council for more than three months. Two elected members were sworn in last month, one was appointed last fall, and another was appointed on Monday. This water plant issue will be the first major issue confronting the majority of the council.
In a phone interview on Thursday following the professional inspection the previous afternoon. the mayor said there was little new analysis on the plant’s condition.
However, he indicated that sinking a considerable amount of money into repairing a structure over a plant that would need to be replaced soon wouldn't be a wise use of the city’s already strapped budget.
The water plant issue comes as the city public works crew is preparing to begin work on its street system, which is in considerable disrepair as well. At the Jan. 19 meeting, the council approved the purchase of equipment that will allow the crew to begin working on the road base in preparation for paving or applying a chip-seal surface.
City residents voted in 2024 to approve a 1% sales tax that is specifically targeted at street repair. Officials promoted the sales tax as a way to have those who live outside city limits and those interstate travelers on U.S. Highway 69 contribute to the cost of the repairs so as not to add another property tax burden to residents.
The city also received a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation last year to repair and pave the street in front of the city’s schools.
Hegwald said she expected the report from BG Consultants to also have suggestions on how to finance the project.
Typically projects for communities Pleasanton’s size can be accomplished by grants from such agencies as the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and grants and long-term loans by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
USDA loans can be amortized over as much as 40 years at a low interest rate, and applications for that program can be accepted year-round.
While the possibility of joining the Public Wholesale Water Supply District No. 13 has been discussed, it was apparent that Young was more interested in keeping a separate water plant for the city.
Hegwald said that in order to join the district, the city would need to pay about $5,000 for an engineering study.
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