Mattawa working to upgrade, restart Well 2, implement park improvements

MATTAWA — Mattawa Public Works Director Juan Ledezma and Gray & Osborne Civil Engineer Jamin Ankney provided an update to the Mattawa City Council on ongoing Well 2 re-equipping design and construction and park improvements at Hund Memorial Park during Thursday’s regular meeting. 

Ledezma updated the council on added features for Phase II of the city’s Well 2 project, which began by rehabilitating the well – which is the city’s oldest – and has moved into the “re-equipping” phase. 

According to Ledezma, the design now includes a stage added to the side of the well’s building, located in Hund Memorial Park, which would be used for events, announcements and other public uses outside of housing the well itself. 

Council member Antonio Acosta said he liked the idea.

Ankney then updated the council on how the design process for the Well 2 project is going.

“The real key to getting more water connections is getting Well 2 online soon, so we're fast-tracking that design so that you can get that project into construction,” Ankney said. “That design is making good progress. We've been working with city staff on it and going through multiple reviews with city staff on the design.”

Ankney stated in a February council meeting that more water connections will accommodate increasing housing development in Mattawa. 

“The one thing we wanted to give you guys a heads up on — and you know we don't like to spring surprises (on you) … Ultimately, the original scope of that project was a construction cost of about $1.7 million, in that range,” he said. “But for a variety of reasons, including just the crazy inflation we've seen, that price is creeping up more to the $2.6 million range.”

Ankney elaborated on the main reasons for the Well 2 cost increase.

“Some of them are good. You're getting additional value. Originally that project was estimated at … a capacity of 400 gallons per minute. After the pump testing and all of that, it looks like we can get more like a 700-gallon-per-minute pump in there,” he said. “Really, that's that's good news for you; you get almost twice the capacity. But the pump and the motor and all the infrastructure is a little bit more expensive to handle that larger pump. It's hundreds of thousands of dollars just for the pump and motor for this site.”

The added design features also drive the price up.

“You saw the stage and the additional building space and that's good stuff and it provides value to the park and it looks good, but it is a little bit more expensive of a building,” Ankney said. “To add on the additional park space and amenity there is a little bit more expensive.”

Additionally, Ankney said that energy codes have changed this year, increasing the requirements for the Well 2 project.
“It’s one of those things where you have to do whatever the code is, and there were some pretty significant changes in the code that are somewhat onerous,” he said. “Unfortunately, we have to implement those as part of this construction project.”

Ankney said the city should be able to find funding to cover the increased project costs.

“The good news is you have lots of funding for these projects. Working with the different funding agencies, you should have the adequate funding to cover these sorts of additional amenities and features,” he said. “We still need to get the final funding strategy together … This amendment should all be covered within your funding packages and we're working on strategies to maximize the grants, to cover as much as possible.”

During his report to the council, Ledezma also mentioned some improvements to the park.

“We had four trees planted that were donated,” he said, “And then we replaced all our wood tables with the newer metal, plastic covered tables and trash cans. There's a total of 18 tables but (for) these new ones, there are 13 of them, and there are 17 trash cans throughout the park.”

After the Public Works report, the council approved the event agreement for the Wahluke School District Senior Graduation Parade on June 7 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. The council also awarded a $47,500 bid to Lowell’s Cornerstone Construction for the city’s Basketball Courts and Parking Lot Improvements Project.

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. 

    Mattawa Public Works Director Juan Ledezma speaks at an April Mattawa City Council meeting. Ledezma updated the council on the ongoing Well 2 project and Hund Memorial Park improvements during Thursday’s regular council meeting.