Final countdown
Longtime Nyssa project finally off the ground
By LARRY MEYER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 10:20 AM PDT
| |
| Turning over the dirt for the Nyssa wastewater lagoon ground-breaking were (from left) Torie Gomez, Nyssa Chamber of Commerce member; Larry Wilson, Nyssa Chamber president; Roberta Donovan, city manager; Harry Flock, mayor; Steve Marez, former treatment plant operator; Troy Baker, project engineer; and Pat Oliver, Pat Brewer, Susan Walker and Brent Huffman, all City Council members, and Myra Hartley, wastewater superintendent. |
NYSSA — The ceremony is over.
Now comes the hard work.
Earth-moving equipment will soon begin carving out a construction project at the Nyssa wastewater treatment lagoon after a ground-breaking service Tuesday morning.
Officials said work will begin within a couple of weeks as contractors begin digging the ponds, at a location northeast of town.
City officials and staff, along with county and state representatives, were on hand for the groundbreaking celebration Tuesday.
In his comments before digging commenced, Nyssa Mayor Harry Flock said he remembers hearing about the project in 1994, long before he was on the City Council, and how it was going to be done in a couple of months.
Fifteen years later, “the project has changed dramatically. The cast has changed dramatically,” Flock said.
Meanwhile, he said, city employees such as Bruce Goodell and wastewater superintendent Myra Hartley worked a miracle to keep the existing treatment plant in operation.
“They kept a Model T going in a computer age,” Flock said.
City officials tried to keep costs down as much as possible, within the constraints imposed by state and federal agencies, Flock said.
“One thing about small towns, everybody works together. Everybody comes together,” he said.
Selland Construction, Wenatchee, Wash., is the contractor for phase A, which includes construction of the ponds, and the company already has several pieces of earth-moving equipment on site.
Project engineer Troy Baker, of Anderson Perry, said all the contracts are in place, the preconstruction meeting has occurred and work will begin March 23.
“I’m excited,” Torie Gomez, Nyssa resident and Sterling Savings Bank branch manager. Mike Becker Construction, La Grande, is the contractor for phase B, which includes the piping, sprinkler system and telemetry system. Baker said those contracts are still being put in place but should be complete shortly.
The total project cost is about $8.1 million, Nyssa City Manager Roberta Donovan said.
and is being funded by USDA Rural Development loans and grants, plus other grants and loans from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon Economic and Community Development.
The replacement of the wastewater collection line on East Ehrgood to the treatment plant is not part of the treatment facility project but is still tied to its operation.
The city delayed awarding a contract on that project because of the downturn in the economy and has applied for stimulus money.
