City changes course on wastewater contract

I am very disappointed in Mayor Dale, Councilmember's McIntre and Silva' decision to cancel a contract with HDR, a company that we have spent 1.7 million of our taxpayers hard earned money. Since Monday's night's meeting I have received many calls from the silent majority who are disappointed about the outcome of this issue. Only time will tell how this decision will effect the City of Barstow and surrounding areas. View meeting

Existing contract canceled; council hopes to save money with new technology By JASON SMITH, staff writer BARSTOW — In a heated meeting Monday night, the City Council voted 3-2 to cancel its wastewater-facility upgrade contract with HDR., Inc., and proceed with MicroMedia Filtration, Inc., which uses an alternative technology. Council members Joe Gomez and Steve Curran cast the dissenting votes. The decision will mean losing the $1.7 million already spent on engineering drawings with HDR. Mayor Lawrence Dale, who has long supported MicroMedia over HDR, motioned for the city to contract exclusively with MicroMedia instead of accepting proposals from other interested firms. “I am extremely pleased with the result, although I wish it would have been a 5-0. As we realize the savings over the years, I think we will all be pleased,” Dale said. He expected that the MicroMedia facility — the company’s first major wastewater contract — can be built within 12 to 18 months, which would be in time to meet the July 2009 deadline that the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board set for the upgrades, which Lahontan mandated because of elevated nitrate levels in the water. Dale and other council members have objected to HDR’s cost increases for the wastewater contract. The initial HDR cost estimate to design the plant was $446,726 but earlier this year this increased to $945,374 as the number of required drawings was expanded, Dale said. City spokesman John Rader attributed the cost increase to the type of technology the city chose, which is called membrane bioreactor technology. HDR’s plant designs for Barstow used membrane filtration, essentially a fine screen, to clean pollutants from wastewater.The presentation of different kinds of technology was part of HDR’s role, and the cost was subject to change depending on that choice, Rader said. MicroMedia’s technology is less established and uses a sand-filtering system with a coagulant that bonds to waste particles. The company has been in business for four years. Barstow will be its first major wastewater project, although the company has recently contracted with the City of Adelanto and an unnamed S&P 500 Company, said MicroMedia’s CEO Sam Luxenburg. Gomez strongly objected to canceling the HDR contract and said the council’s decision to proceed with MicroMedia was “filled with risk.” He called the decision “the most critical vote this council will ever take.” Gomez criticized Julie Hacbarth-McIntyre for casting the “swing vote” for the decision at the meeting. Hackbarth-McIntyre said that although she was initially skeptical of the new technology, she changed her mind after hearing a recent presentation from the company. “As a city, we have to make sure that we’re spending the taxpayers’ money wisely and trust in the new process,” she said. Pat Lendway, the city’s wastewater-contract coordinator, and Hector Rodriguez, the city manager, raised concerns about the decision, though said they would follow the council’s direction. Lendway said he didn’t have enough information to assess MicroMedia’s new technology and wished to continue the city’s contract with HDR. Several members of the public opposed the contract change as well due to the new technology MicroMedia uses and the money already spent. Mike Hernandez, a frequent critic of the City Council, said, “Mr. Mayor, I’m kind of disappointed in you. ... You voted for HDR.” HDR representatives did not return phone calls on Tuesday, but HDR’s wastewater group manager Sam Abi-samra said at the meeting, “We have put the city’s best interest as our goal all along and we have acted in good faith.” MicroMedia offered a $15 million fixed-price contract as an alternative to the $24 million HDR proposal. MicroMedia representatives say its plan for the facility would save the city $1,183,600 annually in operating costs or potentially reduce each resident’s sewer bill by $11 a month. Yvette Abich, the city’s attorney, said the city is not likely to face legal liability for canceling the contract because of a termination clause in the contract.