Council approves award for emergency clarifier repairs at Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 4

Edinburg — The City Council on July 1 authorized an emergency award to Newman Regency Group through a local purchasing cooperative to replace clarifier equipment at Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 4, after staff told the council the clarifier’s metal components had deteriorated and the plant was operating at reduced capacity.

A city staff member explained the repair need to the council: “The repair involves repairing all the metal components of the clarifier mechanism for the treatment plant. As it is now, it deteriorated. It’s not operable. So essentially, we’re working with half of the plant right now,” the staff member said. Council members described the work as an emergency repair and approved the purchase through cooperative procurement.

Council did not read a roll‑call tally; the motion to award the work passed following a motion and second. Council members asked whether the emergency could have been handled under an exemption and discussed vendor history; staff confirmed Newman Regency has done business with the city previously.

Why it matters: The clarifier is a central piece of wastewater treatment operations; operating at partial capacity can affect treatment throughput and requires timely repair. The award authorizes the city manager to execute related documents so work can proceed.

What the council recorded: The council approved the award and authorized the city manager to execute contract documents. The agenda listed the procurement as through the local government purchasing cooperative. The meeting record presented the contract amount as shown on the agenda; the council’s vote authorized staff to proceed.