By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
With all the rain that’s been coming down here lately, Decatur’s infrastructure manager, Josh Zimmerman, easily caught the attention of everyone at Tuesday night’s meeting of the city’s board of works and safety.
An inoperable mechanism which pumps overflow water into the river during a heavy rain has brought on an emergency situation, he told the board.
Repairs are needed as soon as possible, Zimmerman said, since a rainfall of three inches or more could result in flooding of the downtown area.
Three or more inches seems like a lot, yes, but after the heavy rains to start this week, it doesn’t seem to be all that much!
A pipe at a headwall along the St. Mary’s River bank off First St. has a check valve which is no longer working. The problem, Zimmerman said, is due to erosion along the river bank, up to 10 feet of erosion.
Since the water can’t be moved into the river at this time because of the failed mechanism, the water from a heavy rainfall would back up and rise rather quickly.
A project of this magnitude would require, under state law, that unsealed bids be obtained for a repair job. However, due to the emergency situation, quotes can be obtained and used, Zimmerman pointed out.
Obtaining sealed bids requires more red tape and legal hoops to jump through; quotes can bring a much quicker result.
“This could save us a month, month and a half,” Mayor Dan Rickord said.
Zimmerman has several quotes, which the board moved to accept, and he will use the time until the next board meeting to peruse them.
DIFFERENCE: An Internet source says the following:
“A key difference between quote vs estimate is that a quote is more accurate as it is calculated after thoroughly understanding all the aspects of the entire project. A bid is more detailed than an estimate and a quote and it requires thorough knowledge of the timelines and the costs of a project.