Bude OKs funds for downtown street fix

A high-profile road closure and motorist inconvenience along Railroad Avenue could soon be resolved following action by the Bude Board of Aldermen on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

The five-member panel considered five quotes to replace a failed draining culvert beneath the road’s surface adjacent to Home Hardware Center and near the Main Street North intersection.

In a two-page letter from town engineer Brock White, who works for Brookhaven-based Dungan Engineering, he noted Bude officials had asked the firm to prepare a plan and seek quotes to address the ongoing sinkhole situation.

Among the quotes received included: Mitchell Contracting Inc., $33,385; Anding Construction Services LLC, $39,705; Midway Construction Inc., $69,501;G. Rayborn Contracting, $72,500; and Alan Coleman Construction LLC, $92,200.

White pointed out Mitchell Contracting, which had the lowest quote, is presently working in Bude on the town’s latest sewer infrastructure improvements.

Town attorney Mary Kathryn Williamson said money for the street repair effort would likely come from existing road funds collected by Franklin County through ad valorem taxes.

“Our current balance in that account is around $245,000, so if we go with the lowest quote it should not be a problem,” Williamson added.

“They told us that we could send the bill to the county and they would pay it from the funds they hold for us.”

In a follow-up question related to the project, Alderman Jeffrey Quick asked if the scope of work would involve replacing the entire culvert.

“That’s what was discussed when we met and looked at the situation,” Williamson replied.

The failed pipe collects stormwater runoff at the base of the Main Street North hill stretching from the Bude Post office and Peoples Drug store southward to Home Hardware.

From there, the pipe directs runoff to the large stormwater ditch that runs parallel to the railroad tracks nearby.

“There were also concerns because of a nearby utility pole and other underground infrastructure (water lines) in the area, and that’s why we worked to have a licensed-and-bonded contractor to do this kind of work instead of trying to do it ourselves.”
In the end, aldermen voted unanimously to accept Mitchell Contracting’s quote.

No timetable was announced as to when work on the pipe replacement might begin, but officials said they hoped it could start soon because of the good weather and no rain being experienced of late in the area.

In other action during the meeting, the Bude Board of Aldermen considered these business items:

• Approved several pay requests related to an ongoing Community Development Block Grant project for sewer infrastructure improvements north of the railroad track.

Those payments, covered through the federal grant funds, included $95,507.88 to Mitchell Contracting Inc., for work performed on the project during September.

White reported the contractor’s work included cleaning and inspecting 582 feet of six-inch sewer mains and 812 feet of eight-inch wastewater infrastructure.

Additionally, 220 feet of six-inch and 1,621 feet of eight-inch cured-in-place sewer pipe has already been installed by the contractor along with two point-repairs being made.

“One hundred percent of the sewer lines north of the railroad tracks have been cleaned and inspected,” White noted in a written report.

“Eighty percent of the sewer lines (inspected) have issues — some of which are minor and some of which are major.”

White reported major issues include things like broken pipes, root balls in sewer lines restricting flow along with debris and trash in those pipes.

“My goal is to utilize existing project budget funds to address as many of the major issues as possible, but additional funding will be required to address all of the found issues,” White added.

Also as part of the pay request, town leaders voted to expend $4,601.60 for work done on the project by Dungan Engineering as well as $10,000 for administrative services through Southwest Mississippi Planning and Development District.

In a related matter, town leaders authorized the planning and development district to advertise a mandated second public hearing related to the CDBG-funded sewer upgrades.

A finalized date for that hearing was not announced during the meeting, but the notification will be published as a legal notice in The Franklin Advocate.

• Authorized the town’s claims docket, which included $18,844.17 for September bills; $6,814.69 for invoices through Tuesday, Oct. 4; $20,742.42 for the municipality’s September payroll and $3,454.77 for the town’s contribution to the Public Employees Retirement System for September.

• Heard a request from and quotes related to the police department’s call for repairs to the radiator and fan on a 2010 Dodge Charger patrol vehicle.

Aldermen approved having the car’s cooling system repaired so the vehicle could be returned to service.

• Spread upon the minutes approval of final revenue and expenditure reports for May, June, July and August.

• Approved the adoption of a municipal compliance questionnaire for fiscal year 2022.

• Unanimously accepted a municipal proclamation declaring Bude’s observance of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

• Accepted a contract renewal with Randy Cooley to serve as the municipality’s wastewater facilities operator.

• Considered and approved accepting uninsured motorist insurance coverage for municipal vehicles for fiscal year 2023.

• Alderman Jillian Dunmore questioned whether the town’s volunteer fire department has begun the process of testing fire hydrants.

Williamson said efforts would be made to contact a fire department representative to get a definitive answer and a timetable for such inspections.

The next meeting for the Bude Board of Aldermen, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 1 at town hall on Railroad Avenue.

Those citizens wishing to address the board on local issues — with presentations limited to three minutes — must contact town hall no later than Thursday, Oct. 27 to be placed on the meeting agenda for recognition during the session.