By Brian Biggane
The South Palm Beach Town Council heard 30-minute presentations March 13 from a pair of engineering firms regarding the long-awaited construction of a new lift station.
As Mayor Bonnie Fischer put it after the vote at the special meeting, “I was impressed with both.” The tally reflected that statement as Mock Roos of West Palm Beach edged out Holtz Consulting Engineers of Jupiter in a 435-433 vote.
Each of the five council members received a scoresheet and awarded points — up to a maximum of 100 for either applicant — covering different criteria. The two most significant were “ability and experience” and “successful past performance,” with each of those criteria eligible for up to 35 points from each member.
Replacing the aging lift station has been a priority for several months. Earlier this year, the council approved a measure authorizing a payment of more than $7,000 to address the latest emergency repairs.
The lift station receives sewage from the town’s condos and sends it to the Lake Worth Beach treatment plant. The station is between the Brittany and Concordia West condominiums.
Town Manager Jamie Titcomb issued a request for bids in late 2024, but failed to receive the required three bids. After a reissue of the request still left the town with only two bids, the council decided to go ahead and choose between those two.
Holtz Engineers, led by Vice President Christine Miranda, went first, pointing out that while it is on the small side, with just 22 employees, 13 of those are professional engineers. Miranda said she has 25 years of experience in the field dating back to working with the Loxahatchee River District, which is the wastewater entity for the town of Jupiter.
Next up for the team was Steve Fowler, who would serve as project manager. He described constructing lift stations as “our day-in, day-out business.” Fowler said he has 20 years of experience and has worked extensively for Palm Beach County, as well as for Lake Worth Beach, the Loxahatchee River District and Palm Beach Gardens.
The third and final member of the group was Kristin Feko, whose expertise is in the area of grant management and grant application. She expressed confidence she could find ways to mitigate the town’s expenses.
Titcomb said while many factors play into the cost of the project, he expects it to come in between $500,000 and $1 million.
Next up was Mock Roos, whose four-man contingent came with the expectation it would be participating in an ask-and-answer session rather than a presentation, but regrouped quickly.
Senior Vice President Garry Gruber introduced the quartet and stressed the experience they would bring to the project.
Prospective project manager John Cairnes, whose 17 years with the firm was the shortest tenure of the four, said he has become “one of the most experienced, top-notch lift station engineers in Palm Beach County,” having designed more than 100 such rehab projects. He said he has evaluated more than 1,000 lift stations for the county Water Utilities Department and more than 100 for the village of Wellington.
Cairnes said the significant change his team would make from the existing lift station would be to put in a slope rather than a flat bottom.
That would mean all the refuse and debris “goes right into the pump and it gets sucked out, so there’s less maintenance there,” he said. “So, if a storm came through … you’d be able to just continue normal operation.
“You really wouldn’t have to do anything, kind of a ‘set it and forget it.’”
Cairnes added that with the improvements, materials and technology, “you wouldn’t have to touch it, hopefully, for another 50 years.”
Cairnes said the firm is contracted to build new lift stations for Manalapan and the town of Palm Beach, with those being the two closest pump stations to South Palm Beach.
Council member Elva Culbertson said that proximity was a factor in her giving the edge to Mock Roos.
Cairnes said a delay in the availability of materials means the Manalapan project won’t begin construction until early next year. South Palm Beach would face similar delays.
Town Attorney Ben Saver met with the quartet from Mock Roos immediately after the meeting to start negotiations toward a contract. The council said if no deal can be struck it would turn to Holtz next.
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