Albany City Commission considers $9.99 million contract for sewage, stormwater project

ALBANY — When a massive sewer/stormwater separation project gets underway, construction work will interfere with residents’ daily routines as parts of streets and driveways are temporarily ripped up for the work.

Keeping Albany city officials and the public informed about the work and potential disruptions for residents will be a key role for the company in charge of overseeing the project.

On Tuesday, that company assured Albany City Commission members that those considerations will be given as construction unfolds around the city.

“We’re going to be the ones getting some of the phone calls,” Ward IV Commissioner Chad Warbington said, addressing four company officials who attended the meeting. “It’s going to be hard to communicate this once you start tearing up streets.”

The commission is considering a recommendation from staff to contract with the Ardurra Group Inc. for engineering services.

The proposed $9.99 million contract includes management of engineering services through the preliminary and final design phases, assistance with bids and proposals for the work, construction and post-production assistance.

Ardurra would provide quarterly updates to commissioners and also meet with members of the community to educate them on the project and communicate with them about disruptions, a company representative said.

“We’re an extension of you,” Joey Crews, the southeast water practice director for the company, said. “The way we approach it, we’re mindful.”

Ardurra also would work with the city if enhancement projects, such as sidewalk construction, are identified in areas where work is being performed, Crews said, answering another question from Warbington.

About 40 percent of the separation work has been completed in the city. The areas where the separation has not reached include the Eighth Avenue and Third Avenue basins, the Holloway basin, the Booker Avenue outfall basin and the Mulberry Heights area of East Broad Avenue.

The city is under a mandate to have 85 percent separation completed by the summer of 2025 or face daily fines. The estimated cost of completing separation for the entire city is $105 million.

In other business, the commission questioned Police Chief Michael Persley about reports of drag racing on city streets. Persley confirmed there have been gatherings and racing on isolated streets in the city.

One of those streets is the south end of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Ward VI Commissioner Demetrius Young said.

“(At) one of the last houses before you get into the city limits, there is about a quarter-mile straightaway,” he said. “I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard it.”

Mayor Bo Dorough asked Persley to present to the commission about drag racing activity at a future meeting.

Persley also addressed questions about Halloween safety.

The chief said regardless of which night individuals celebrate and go house-to-house trick-or-treating, they should conduct themselves responsibly. City officials plan to announce on Wednesday whether the city will earmark Saturday Oct. 30 or Oct. 31, a Sunday, as the preferred night for trick-or-treating.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]