Othello passes budget, declares emergency to speed well replacement

The Othello City Council on Monday approved a $14.9 million budget for 2018 and declared the situation with city Well No. 3 to be an emergency, thus allowing the city to bypass the legally required bidding process to replace the well. “Pump No. 3 failed, and we considered replacing the pump, but the hole is too crooked, and we need to replace the well,” said Jesse Cowger, president of Varela and Associates, the company that does the city’s engineering work. The emergency declaration allows the city to bypass competitive bids for the estimated $1.8 million redialing project, Cowger said.

With time of the essence — Well No. 3 is essential to the city’s summer water supply, as the only other well with summer capacity has fluoride levels that are too high — Cowger said waiving the bidding process will give the city a fighting chance of having a new Well No. 3 online by summer. “Without Well No. 3, we will not be able to meet summer demand. And if another well fails, we will not be able to meet demand,” Cowger said. Cowger said the city was putting together a contract right now, and would get quotes from well drilling companies as opposed to formal bids. However, with the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, it’s unlikely the city will receive any quotes for the work until after the first of the year. Even if work can start early next year, Cowger said it will still be a tight deadline to get Well No. 3 re-drilled by the time summer arrives. The city plans to cover the $1.8 million to drill a replace the well with a rural development loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The city council’s $14.9 million budget for 2018 includes $6 million for the general fund (which earmarks $3 million for the police, $971,000 for the parks department, and $356,000 for fire and rescue), $3.6 million for water, $1.9 million for sewer, $1.4 for solid waste, and $1.3 million for street maintenance and construction.