The city’s four employees at the sewage treatment plant will be offered jobs with Inframark LLC if the Orange City Council decides to have the plant operated by the private contractor.
The council held a workshop on the contract and decided to vote during the May 8 regular meeting on whether to award a five-year contract to the company.
Council members had questions, particularly on whether people would lose jobs. Public Works Director Jim Wolf said the city has held some positions open in anticipation of the private contractor. Timmy Campbell has been interim director of the water and sewer department after a retirement, plus two other positions are open through attrition.
He said if Inframark gets the contract, Campbell will have the opportunity to apply for the director’s position. The four workers at the sewage treatment plant will be able to work for Inframark, he said.
Inframark Vice President Ed Schwab said the company has insurance and a 401K plan with matching contributions from the company.
He also told the council that if the city does not like the way Inframark is operating the plant, the city can take it back in five years when the contract expires.
Also, “there’s a clause if we don’t do our job like I promise, you can fire us,” he said.
The city cost will be about $876,000 for the first year. Wolf said that is comparable to what the city pays to operate the plant each year.
Inframark will operate the plant and the contract will cover the costs of necessary chemicals and required laboratory testing. Schwab said the company is familiar with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality rules and regulations. If the treatment plant gets fined for a violation of the company, Inframark will pay the fines.
Under the proposed contract, the city will still operate and maintain the lift stations and sewer lines. Wolf said the city has spent $5 million during the past couple of years to update and improve the treatment plant.
The city will continue to operate the water plants.
Schwab said the company has contracts to operate treatment plants across the country, including dozens of cities in Texas. Inframark has run the Kingwood treatment plant for 30 years, he said.
Schwab said Inframark can send workers from other areas to help in a disaster. Inframark crews from Oklahoma loaded up supplies and came to help Kingwood after Hurricane Harvey flood.
Wolf said the move to get a private contractor has “been an evolutionary process” for the past six years. A previous city council instructed the city staff to research contractors.
Operating and maintaining are not necessarily the same. Who pays for parts, supplies and labor?
I believe the City leadership made a wise decision on this . Absolutely no employee will lose their jobs. that’s important. I believe our water quality will remain excellent. One less headache staff & council has to worry about . These folks are experienced professionals .
I do not have all the details but I have many questions. We just spent $5 Million in upgrades tot he plant and now we are going to consider turning the operation of the plant over to a company who we are going to pay approx $876k (which is about the same as the cost it takes the City to Operate the plant)? How is it that a company can operate the plant for less than we do with the same employees? Inframark is not bidding on this with a five year contract without factoring in making a profit. There are some holes in this proposal that are not being answered.