Infrastructure Water Problems are a Local and National Concern

 

Image by rony michaud from Pixabay 

Infrastructure water problems in older communities across the nation are a concern that both the Federal government and State governments are stepping-up to the plate to begin funding of major water projects in the United States.

1. Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC)
2. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law water funding
3. Water Infrastructure and Innovation Act (WIFIA)

Cities, communities, towns and counties are addressing the amount of water infrastructure problems. Some have created new positions to hire an in-house engineer or there is the standard contract labor for engineers.

Hiring an in-house engineer is costly based on the professional salary and hiring availability.
An engineering firm with their own project managers that handle multiple areas is the normal means of getting needed work done. 

Either way, these are the professionals that understand the work, have the expertise to look for the funding and the knowledge needed for filling out the paperwork for projects needed.

Over the past four months, CNj has submitted FOIA forms every month to obtain a copy of a contract between Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District (HISID) and Engineering Services Inc. (ESI) Jeff Dehnhardt, P.E. (project engineer).

CNj also includes an FOIA for all paid billing statements and invoices since October 2020 to date. (4/13/2023 last FOIA request.)

The community of Holiday Island has known since January 2022 that the area has $1.4 Million in water infrastructure problems. 

The HISID board of directors (BOC) announced in December 2022, during final budget planning, that HISID did not receive the grant they had submitted for $1.4 Million. 

What is really being processed? All FOIA requests for the ESI contract and the paid billing / invoices from ESI from Oct. 2020 to April 13, 2023 return the answer every time that there are none.

This is the schedule for applying for ANRC grants, which is what the district manager states is being processed.

CNj attended a Bid Opening on April 13, 2023 for PRVs at the HISID district office just to ask Jeff Dehnhardt in person if he had a contract. His answer was NO.

The bid opening was short. There were NO bids to open.
There was NO district manager present either.

A detailed advertisement was placed one time in both the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (March 12, 2023) and the Carroll County News (March 14, 2023). 

The last contract on file for ESI Jeff Dehnhardt, P.E. was in 2017.
The contract pricing six-years-ago had the rate for a small project like PRVs at $2000 to prepare and $500 to be present for the bid opening.

Before leaving, this editor asked Jeff Dehnhardt for permission, which he granted, to ask HISID Chair Phyllis Sarratt to give this person a contract!

Her response with a giggle, "we just tell people he likes us."
Mayor Dan Kees was also present. He was on the HISID BOC in 2017. The last year that a proper contract was written with former District Manager Lawrence Blood and ESI.