Chelan City Council awards wastewater treatment plant improvements to KRCI

CHELAN -  In a June 27 meeting, the Chelan City Council discussed many issues involving areas of improvement to infrastructure and recreation around the city.
Among these items was the first phase of wastewater treatment plant improvements. In a unanimous vote, the Council awarded the project bid to KRCI, LLC. The East Wenatchee company offered the lowest bid for the improvements at $785,157, well below the $936,000 the city had budgeted for the endeavor. The construction project involves installing city-purchased mechanical and electrical equipment as well as purchasing minor mechanical plumbing items at the wastewater treatment plant. The next motion consideration was the City’s agreement with Rain for Rent, an equipment rental agency based in Arlington. Travis Denham, City engineer for the Public Works Department, provided history on the matter. In fall of 2021, the Chelan authorized RH2 Engineering to conduct an analysis of the City’s water system. The analysis demonstrated the need to install a third pump at Darnell’s Booster Pump Station. The City expects the pump to be delivered in September and installed and commissioned by early October. Due to the waiting period and number of customers being served, the Public Works Department opted to have an emergency action plan especially since maximum flow demand typically occurs in late July.
This plan involved an agreement with Rain for Rent which rents trailer-mounted pumps throughout the United States. Chelan would rent the pump on layaway at a 50-perecent rate while it waits for the third pump to be officially installed. In case of an emergency, Rain for Rent could deliver the pump from Arlington in about 12 hours. Denham did not anticipate borrowing the pump longer than needed. Renting the pump would cost approximately $33,000 if it’s not needed and between $65,000 and $75,000 if it is needed during that time.
“The analogy that we’ve been using is, you can only roll the dice so many times before you lose the battle. We feel like we’re really close,” Denham said. “Obviously that [new] pump’s going to be here in September or October, but this is just an insurance policy to get us through one more summer.” All members of the Council voted for the motion.
The next topic was to finalize an agreement for the design of the Chelan Gorge Community Park. Paul Horne, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Director for Chelan, mentioned Berger Partnership Professional Services and included two sample site master plans from other projects the firm had done. The motion for the agreement passed unanimously.  
Horne continued to talk about the SCJ Alliance Professional Services Agreement for the Parks & Recreation System Master Plan Project. The agreement would provide a six-year project that would be GMA (Growth Management Act) compliant and satisfy RCO (Recreation and Conservation Office) compliance which allows the City to continue to be eligible from Grants at their providing. SCJ has a base in Wenatchee and Horne said the firm knows the Chelan area well. “We are hot to trot to finish this park’s recreation system master plan,” Horne said. “We’d like to get this passed while you’re all on the board. Hopefully this can be a good legacy for this Council to set the direction for the parks system as we move forward.” The motion passed unanimously.
Councilwoman Erin McCardle and Chelan Community Development Director John Ajax then gave an administrative update regarding the East Chelan Tax Increment Area (TIA). They mentioned that conversations took place with the junior tax districts. Two successful outreach meetings were held with Lake Chelan Health Hospital and Chelan Fire District 7. McCardle described the meetings as “collaborative” and mentioned that Fire Chief Brandon Asher said his department is good from a financial perspective.
“We clearly understand the mechanics of how the TIF works as far as no harm to the junior taxing districts,” she said. While acknowledging the project as a main priority for the City, Councilman Tim Hollingsworth emphasized the importance of finding other revenue streams.
“I think the biggest way we can mitigate the financial impact on the junior districts is going to be by finding other sources besides our property tax revenue, however it is collected and so I want to urge that we not put all our eggs in this basket,” he said. “I think that’s part of the concern of the junior districts that it’s just the scale of the project and the amount of property tax revenue that’s being consumed by it.”