What Does Panic Smell Like?

Pumping station upgrade is 'long overdue'

Jack Foley, Hearald News.
The Braga Bridge flies over
the Central Street Pump Station.

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By Michael Holtzman
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Feb 19, 2010 @ 08:36 PM
Last update Feb 20, 2010 @ 06:40 AM
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FALL RIVER — Federal stimulus funds will save the city nearly $1.2 million for two long-needed drinking water projects to paint water towers and replace water mains, officials said.
They’re part of continued drinking water upgrades dubbed a decade ago the “42-7” project — 42 miles in seven years, replacing water lines dating to the 19th century.


Because of high bidding, however, the city did not submit an application to help fund its latest combined sewer overflow project: rehabilitation of the circa 1952 Central Street pump station that malfunctioned Wednesday and dumped 2.5 million gallons of raw sewage into Mount Hope Bay near Battleship Cove.
That problem of the automated pumps not turning on was rectified and remains closely monitored, Administrator of Public Utilities Terrance Sullivan reported.
He said a sole bid for the estimated $3.5 million project in December came in just over $5 million, while re-bidding to meet January federal guidelines elicited four bids.


The lowest, by Zoppo Corp. in Boston, was $4.6 million, more than $1 million above department estimates, Sullivan said.


He plans to re-bid the work in about three months, again seeking more competitive pricing.


Sullivan said he’d estimated the expected American Recovery and Reinvestment Act clean water forgiveness grants would be 9 percent, based upon state and federal officials’ projections.


That would have saved the city slightly more than $300,000, based upon $3.5 million to update the CSO pump station that was last rehabilitated in 1978. Specifications list it as a 540-day project to rehab one of the city’s largest pump stations located under the Braga Bridge.
“It’s long overdue,” Sullivan said.

The final AARA funding for clean water contracts awarded offsets 11.7 percent of principal costs, while delivering drinking water grants at 20 percent of costs, according to the office of state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill.


The state, through its Water Pollution Abatement Trust chaired by Cahill, announced 115 local awards totaling $185 million, which includes local drinking ($50.1 million) and wastewater ($127.7 million) projects.
If the city awarded Zoppo Corp.’s $4.6, million bid by the Jan. 15 deadline, it could have been eligible for about $538,000 in AARA clean water forgiveness funding, Sullivan said.

“I would have liked to have signed the contracts by Jan. 15, but the bids were so high and so we’re not getting the money in this round,” Sullivan said. “As much as I want the grant money, it didn’t make logical sense.”
He said state Department of Environmental Protection officials said additional jobs bill funding could be available in a subsequent round.

“Nothing’s assured,” he said. “Certainly, if it does come in, we will apply and try to access that money.”
He said the two drinking water grants provides funding as follows:


— Phase 8 water project, $671,291 in ARRA grants on a $3.3 million state revolving no-interest loan. The project includes painting/rehabbing two Bedford Street water storage tanks on Bedford Street built in 1938 and 1945 and last painted in the 1970s; also, remaining replacement completion of water mains on Hathaway and Taylor streets this spring, following work on Hanover, June, Otis and part of Weetamoe streets.

— Phase 9 water project, $519,194 in ARRA grants on a $2.6 million state revolving no-interest loan. The project, to be done in 2010-2011, includes painting/rehabbing Haskell Street water storage tank and replacing mains on streets that include Linden, Broad and part of Rock. Contracts were awarded to Cn Corp. of Fall River for water main work and to JPI Painting Inc. in Ohio.

The $1.2 million principal forgiveness grants should begin to reduce the water department’s $2.1 million debt service in fiscal year 2011 and 2012, Sullivan said.


In its ninth year, Sullivan estimated the 42-7 project was responsible for 55 miles of water main replacements and related rehabilitation work totaling $45 million.
E-mail Michael Holtzman at mholtzman@heraldnews.com.


First of all, this story shows everything sad and sorry about the way this City is being run today, and during the last 30 years or so. And I am sorry to say that unless I read  in next week's Happy News and Feckless Reporting Emporium, the Herald News (HN), that Mayor Flanagan has fired Mr. Sullivan and Chappy Chapstick for continued poor capital acquistion and related financial planning for this community,  I must withdraw support for his mayoralty even before the completion of the 3 full month mark I cited last year. I'm sure that won't make him loose any sleep at all, because a man who can garner 11,000 plus votes has more than just the right-wing and teabagger zealots on the comments section of the HN giving him support.The number of avid Flanagan fans are dwindling, however, as the mistakes pile up art record pace, and that's saying quite a bit for Fall River! But my hypocracy  only goes so far, ladies and gentlemen. I think I've seen enough to know which direction this one is heading.

At the outset let me state the the HN has outdone itself in terms of muddled story writing and and unclear reportage' of simple and relevant facts. If you knew nothing about the breakdown of the pumping station this week that dumped 2.5 million gallons of human effluent and other raw sewerage into the Mount Hope Bay, you could not possibly have understood what really happened, or that this collection of seemingly unrelated factoids (because they are not facts, mostly self serving leading statements about "impressions" or 'estimates") is merely a  CYA story for this man Sullivan, the Sewer Commission, and Mayor Flanagan, to make it appear they have everything in hand. Alas, even the most casual observer of Fall River politics can easily see what they have in their hands is the brown stuff floating into Mount Hope Bay thanks to the crew of dauntless donothings that have run this community for over 30 years and continue to do so. The entire story smells like a sitting City government in complete panic. Now those are what I consider to be the most pertinent facts of this story!

Chappy and Sullivan have developed the art of poor capital item acquisition, long term debt and financial planning into a pure science of incompetence. This is not the first time they have joined forces to screw things up. The old Tresurer was on the last pitious failure party boat and took one for the this team of rogues. Now, since literally no one else in the City administration has the expertise to complete complex financial planning, both must answer for this mess (no pun intended). And before we go any further, why would anyone believe what these two documented LIARS says's about anything anyways? Mayor Flanagan, since you kept these two fools on board when you had the chance to keep them from screwing things up yet again, this mess is all YOURS!

What a joke. Am I suppossed to be impressed by the listing of upcoming CSO project phases , heavy on "might be's" and not on "we know how to do it right, THIS TIME". Hasn't anyone ever thought of putting sufficient lead time into planning these bids so that additional bids can be completed in a timely manner if there's a problem. ANY problem? I mean, this IS Fall River, the home of unexpected screw-ups and CYA explanations that typically never include the names of those ACTUALLY responsible!

What DOES stick out like sore thumbs are these two very telling items that go directly to point about this new administration being just like all the rest:

"Phase 8 water project, $671,291 in ARRA grants on a $3.3 million state revolving no-interest loan"

and,

"Phase 9 water project, $519,194 in ARRA grants on a $2.6 million state revolving no-interest loan"

Well....what do you know? If this was NBC's Law and Order, the prosecutors would now be saying to the Judge "Your honor, Mr. Sullivan opened the door, so we may now ask questions about this issue of the defendant". Whats the issue, you ask?

Well, when Mayor Flanagan was running for mayor, he claimed the cost of debt service could be vastly reduced by re-bonding the entire project with lower interest rates, resulting in lower sewer fees. This was piggy-backed on the issue of the very poorly written "Legal Opinion" about the CSO fee being an illegal tax. However, did he not understand there is no interest rate lower than ZERO! I mean, Mr. Mayor, you're an attorney, but you can't be THAT dumb, can you?

This means only one of two things is likely to be the case, and no other resonable conclusions can be reached. One, that Mayor Flanagan and his team never asked anyone in the know what the debt service profile was for the existing and proposed long term debt for the project, yet made direct statements that lead every voter to believe otherwise. Or, that he knew very well what the debt profile for the project was, and lied about it anyway. Neither is very palatable behavior from someone whose campaign mantra was transparency and the end of business as usual. Either he failed to complete his due diligence on the project or he lied. Both possibilities are downright UGLY.

I stated in an article yesterday that even the best people with every good intention often turn sociopath when it comes to getting elected and staying in office. I think we are seeing this soft tragedy playing out again. It's too bad. I thought this guy might be different. I guess we cannot check their motives for them...only they can.