Other matters taken up during the Pearl River County Utility Authority’s Thursday afternoon meeting include accepting a bid for lawn care and discussing a plan to conduct repairs at the Neal Road treatment facility.
Executive Director Ray Scott said the board approved a motion to accept a bid from Darby’s Lawncare Excellence of $25,000 for a year’s worth of lawn maintenance at 13 locations. Scott said the Utility Authority will be charged $1,800 per cut for all 13 locations, totaling about $25,000 for the year. The locations to be maintained include the Picayune, Poplarville and Millard wastewater treatment facilities, along with the various water wells and other water facilities or wastewater treatment lagoons owned by the Utility Authority.
The board also approved six work order changes as part of the ongoing Picayune wastewater system rehabilitation project. Scott said the change orders were necessary to account for actual footages of the sewer pipes that had to be lined. The work order changes will not affect the contract value.
The board also tabled accepting bids to conduct rehabilitation work to a pump station on Country Club Drive in Picayune. Scott said the bids did not come in until 10 a.m. the day of the meeting, and they were higher than anticipated. Board members will look over the bids further before making a decision.
In a separate matter, Brad Ferguson with Senator Roger Wicker’s office spoke to the Utility Authority board about the U.S. 11 expansion project and how the senator’s office might be able to help with the relocation of utility lines.
The board also discussed a need to have two clarifiers at the Neal Road wastewater treatment plant in Picayune repaired. Scott estimates repairs could begin in the next two weeks, and it would take about a week to finish the work once it starts. The estimated expense to do the repairs is between $12,000 to $15,000.
The next meeting of the board will be April 21, at 2 p.m. in the boardroom at the Neal Road treatment facility.