DAY 1: It was a gratifying moment, Thursday, December 10, 2015, as City of Morrison officials and some of their engineering/construction partners met on this barren hillside, south of town on IL Route 78. Twelve acres will be transformed into a modern–odor free–wastewater treatment plant, beginning this month. Not represented were the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Baxter & Woodman Consulting Engineers.
Mayor Everett Pannier described the lay of the land after the construction. Parts of the plant will be hidden from view. “Building tops will be visible [from this point.] There will be a pond to the northwest, with the main building to the southwest. Overflow to the creek will be to the southwest. The City will vacate the cul-de-sac to MIT, [who owns] land north of Co-Z Corner Convenience Store. A new City Garage will be a long-range addition” to the hill crest, he concluded.
A new road will be on the south, accessible from Route 78, lying parallel to existing pines bordering a log home adjacent to the plant site. The Mayor added, “In January, we will close of the log house sale to Curt and Lindsay Workman.” They were the second highest bidders, with “only $2500 separating the two bids.” The top bidder was unable to complete the purchase,
Left-to-right, City Administrator Barry Dykhuizen, Alderman Vern Tervelt, Director of Public Works Gary Tresenriter, and Mayor Pannier are wearing the requisite safety helmet, per Project Manager Bobby Asbury. City servants picked up shiny, golden-tipped shovels and ripped open the ground–a little bit. Each gouge into the earth began a substantial transformation, with a deadline of “June-to-August 2017,” stated the Mayor. The main construction “starts next summer.”
“There will be a spring bid of $4-to-4.5 million for two lift stations and piping to [this] site. We needed nine easements to do this. The City sold 12.5 acres of land to Betty McDonnell[, who lives on S. Genesee,]” keeping a diamond-shaped piece. He continued, “Eleven hundred feet of piping crosses her land [underground] to the creek. The old pumping/lift station gets torn out and becomes four more acres of green space.” He said a portion of that land might be sold.
“This is the single, biggest contract Morrison ever let,” he concluded, “for $15.1 million.” When asked if local contractors will be hired, he said no. “We have to use contractors that are bigger than our local” ones.
Project Manager Asbury listed the next steps. “We’ll get the roadway in and the staging area. We’ll push along until it becomes unproductive. We will maybe start the control building before or after the holidays.” He plans to set up “temporary electrical staging areas. We’ll work with our concrete structures. There’s going to be a lof of dirt out here!” he concluded.
This team took the first step to fulfill their goal of efficient and sufficient wastewater treatment for the City. Left-to-right are Alderman Vern Tervelt; City Administrator Barry Dykhuizen; Leander Construction, Inc. Superintendent Jamie Carlson; Fehr Graham Survey Manager Scott Immel; Leander Construction, Inc. General Contractor Bobby Asbury; Fehr Graham Project Manager Shawn Ortgiesen; Director of Public Works Gary Tresenriter; Mayor Everett Pannier.
