Loan Orders Approved for Water and Sewer Work

The City Council approved $11.75 million in loan orders for water and sewer work at various locations around the city, but the measure wasn’t approved until the council grilled the representative from CDM Smith.

The first bone of contention came from Councillor Dan Rizzo and Ward 6 Councillor Charlie Patch, who asked why CDM Smith comes in the same time every year seeking funds, right before the end of the fiscal year, and not giving enough time to study.

“We’re not talking about small amounts of money,” Rizzo said.

“I’ve been doing this now for 11 years and it’s the same thing every year. They control, design and oversee it all. The last several years I have been asking for figures of what CDM Smith gets,” Patch said. “I want to know how much your company is getting for this. Where’s the control and oversight. Nobody is watching you.”

“The city has been under a 13-year consent decree from the EPA and Department of Justice to fix and improve the water and sewer system in the city.” Rizzo said.

“I think it’s time to put a stop to this,” Patch said. “I’ve said the same thing over and over.”

Robert Button of CDM Smith said they have held public hearings and given presentations on the project. There are also department heads meeting held every two weeks. So far to date about $35 million has been spent improving the water and sewer system in the city.

“There is a considerable amount of oversight, the state and federal government also reviews,” Button said.

Councillor George Rotondo asked when was the last time that CDM Smith was audited regarding the costs of Revere’s project.

“City staff, EPA and Massachusetts DEP met in March or April of this year, and every six months we are required to submit a status report,” Buttons said. “When I started this there were several streets with sewage running down and we have remedied that.”

Ward 4 Councillor Patrick Keefe also said he would have liked more time to study the loan orders.

The council approved several loan orders in this round including:

• Loan order in the amount of $3,000,000 for Oak Island Water Main Improvements, DWSRF Construction Project No. 4405.
• Loan order in the amount of $550,000 for Planning and Design of Oak Island Water Main Improvements.
• Loan order in the amount of $2,000,000 for Illicit Connection & Sump Pump Removal Program, CWSRF Construction Project No. 4439.
• Loan order in the amount of $500,000 for the Illicit Connection Detection and Sump Pump Investigations, CWSRF Planning Project No. 4386.
• Loan order in the amount of $4,700,000 for Phase 9 Construction- Infiltration/ Inflow, Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination, Pump Station and Drainage, CWSRF Construction Project No. 4440.
• Loan order in the amount of $1,000,000 for Phase 10 Field Investigations, CWSRF Planning Project No. 4387.