PANAMA CITY — The Bay County Commission on Tuesday is set to decide whether to award a contract to build a pumping station that is part of an alternative drinking water supply system.
County officials fear that should a major hurricane hit over the Deer Point reservoir, Bay County’s primary drinking water supply could become contaminated with saltwater.
“We don’t want to have all our eggs in one basket,” County Commissioner Bill Dozier said.
The commission will be asked to approve a maximum contract price of $1.92 million with GAC Contractors to build the North Bay Booster Pump Station and continue with Phase II of the project.
It’s just a portion of the alternative drinking water supply system the county is developing.
“Then, of course, the other portion is the installation of pipes,” Dozier said. “It is a big project, and so we’re going to be watching it real close. This is something that has needed to be done for a long time. I think we’ve been very fortunate in the past we’ve never been hit with a catastrophic storm such as there were over the years in several other places, Louisiana one of them. But I think the right thing to do now is to plan for the future so we’re not left saying, ‘I wish we would have done that.’ ”
Since the 1980s, county officials have recognized the need for an alternative water supply system.
On Oct. 21, the commission approved of the contract for the North Bay Booster Pump Station and authorized staff to issue a notice to proceed with Phase I preliminary design services for $349,200. A guaranteed maximum price of $1.92 million has been negotiated with GAC Contractors. The project was based on a preliminary budget estimated at $2 million.
The alternative water supply would come from tapping into the northern part of the Deer Point reservoir and piping the water to the treatment plant on Transmitter Road. The reservoir supplies the vast majority of the county’s potable water. Currently, the county’s only tap-in point is at the southern end of the reservoir.
Commissioners in June authorized borrowing up to $22 million for the system from Compass Bank to develop the alternative water system. That bank offered an interest rate of 3.67 percent. The payments, which will come from residents’ water payments, will continue through 2032.
The total estimated cost of the system will be $23.4 million.
County officials have said they expect the county will borrow about $17 million for the system, and the Northwest Florida Water Management District has agreed to provide a grant of $5.47 million toward the project The county is hoping the system is completed in a year.
In other business Tuesday, the commission is slated to:
- Elect a chairman and vice chairman.
- Award the Spring Avenue Area Road resurfacing contract in an amount of $282,883 to C.W. Roberts Contracting Inc. The contract calls for surfacing about 1.2 miles of roads that are in poor condition. The firm submitted the lowest of four bids. Segments of Spring Avenue, East 17th Street, East 16th Court and College Avenue are slated to be resurfaced.
- Conduct a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the county’s off-premises sign standards. The county’s current land development regulations stipulates that off-premises signs are not allowed on the south of Back Beach Road, Front Beach Road and Thomas Drive, and they are required to be set back 75 feet on the north side of the roads. However, the standard only applies to mechanically or electronically operated alternating face signs. “To level the playing field, staff proposed to amend the land development regulations to treat all off-premises signs equally,” the agenda material states.