The Salina City Commission will vote this afternoon on awarding a contract to remove the massive debris pile that has clogged the Smoky Hill River at Bill Burke Park since June's flooding.
Staff is recommending the commission approve a $452,351 contract with Diehl Enterprises, a local company that submitted the lowest of four bids received for the cleanup work. The Salina-based contractor quoted $411,320 for the job, with city staff adding a 10% contingency to cover unexpected costs.
Diehl's proposal beat out three other companies, including CTC Disaster Response ($500,000), Superior Contracting ($490,400), and RMA Engineering ($491,400). The cost works out to roughly $36-44 per cubic yard for removing an estimated 11,400 cubic yards of debris.
Under the proposed timeline, Diehl would spend two weeks preparing a rock equipment pad, followed by four weeks of actual debris removal. The company would haul the material to the wastewater treatment plant for disposal, with burning costing an additional $18,500.
The project faces a funding challenge, as the cleanup wasn't included in this year's budget. The city has $47,000 in budgeted contingency funds available, but the remaining costs will come from general fund reserves and may require a budget amendment later this year. City officials say no disaster relief funding is currently available.
Adding urgency to the decision, utilities director Martha Tasker warned that last week's additional flooding has deposited even more debris in the channel. The $41,120 contingency isn't intended to cover this new accumulation, meaning the city may need to approve additional change orders down the line.
City staff has already begun the permitting process with the Army Corps of Engineers and state water rights officials, with approvals expected before work could begin.
The commission will consider the contract at this afternoon's meeting, with staff recommending approval to get the six-week cleanup project underway.
