Sewer repairs at Rosewood Mobile Home Park expected to start around Thanksgiving – The Robesonian

LUMBERTON More than three years after the City of Lumberton began the Community Development Block Grant process, dirt will be turned soon at Rosewood Mobile Home Park as construction on the housing complexs new sewer system begins.

Work on the project is anticipated to begin around Thanksgiving, Lumberton Public Works Director Rob Armstrong said. Lumberton City Council approved a construction bid for the project during its regular meeting Oct. 7.

Weve got a little bit of an administrative procedure to go through because its funded by CDBG money, Armstrong aid. Well have to get the whole bid package reviewed by CDBG folks.

The city does not anticipate any issues with that process, in part because the lowest bid was not the one selected, but instead the lowest responsible bid was accepted, Armstrong said. That base bid with alternates, from Ralph Hodge Construction Co. in Wilson, was $1,358,480.80. After CDBG approval is given, the city will hold a preconstruction conference with the contractor to review project plans.

Even as the lowest bid was rejected, the project is still within the citys budget and the city has some contingencies in case of unforeseen problems, Armstrong said.

Once work begins at the mobile home park, located on East Elizabethtown Road, the project is anticipated to take a year or more to complete, he said.

Out of 125 home sites at the park, 86 have failing septic tanks, Armstrong said. As plots have become vacant, they cannot be rented out because of their current condition. Additionally, a notice of violation has been given on some occupied lots, with time to correct the problem before the occupants would face potential eviction. The Robeson County Health Department is not renewing individual tanks because of the systemwide issues, so a new sewer system is the only fix.

This will correct that issue and allow these plots to be occupied, Armstrong said. Theres some health hazards that have popped up over the years, such as sewer water loose on the ground.

About 40 lots that are currently vacant can be added back to the market upon completion of the project, with the CDBG provision that they be occupied by low- to moderate-income residents, Armstrong said.

City Council approved application for a $750,000 grant, through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, on Sept. 11, 2017. The grant amount awarded was $1,997,500, and its receipt was approved by City Council May 14, 2018. Council approved a resolution on Sept. 5, 2018, to adopt a grant project ordinance and the authorization of a program manual.

From that point, the grant process played out behind the scenes until the project was bid out earlier this month.

The CDBG grants historically move very slow, Armstrong said. This project was more complex than the average sewer extension.

A major high-pressure natural gas line passes beneath the park, Armstrong said. While there are no mobile homes sitting directly over it, engineers had to design a way for the sewer system to cross the line. Obtaining and processing information that confirmed which residents were considered low to moderate income was also a part of the process, in addition to making plans to reroute the sewer downstream because of the need for additional capacity.

Some easements and right of ways also had to be obtained, City Manager Wayne Horne said.

Rosewood Mobile Home Park paid $39,214 in project funding, which City Attorney Holt Moore said during the Oct. 7 City Council meeting had been received by the city. This covered the project costs related to the units that did not qualify for the grant, as they are either unoccupied or their occupants are not considered low- to moderate-income, according to Horne and Armstrong.

This is not the only mobile home park in Lumberton where the city is looking to rebuild a sewer system, Horne said.

Weve been trying to get sewers into these mobile home parks, Horne said. Basically these soil conditions and the fact these mobile homes were on lots, and the high density, it was saturating the soil.

The Rosewood project will include installing about one mile of pipes and building a new lift station. The roadway will then need to be repaired and the old septic tanks removed.

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [emailprotected]

Original post:
Sewer repairs at Rosewood Mobile Home Park expected to start around Thanksgiving - The Robesonian