Barstow Council gambles on young wastewater firm

7.19.07

OPINION: Council gambles on young wastewater firm

By SCOTT SHACKFORD

City Council’s risky decision to switch firms for the upgrade of Barstow’s wastewater treatment facility could ultimately save taxpayers money — or it could backfire terribly, costing us untold millions.

Council voted 3-2 Monday to cancel its contract with HDR Inc. and to turn to MicroMedia to develop an upgrade based on technology that is less proven but allegedly cheaper. The company has been in business for four years, and Barstow will be the firm’s first major wastewater contract.

The decision has already cost us $1.7 million, the amount the city has already spent on the process. That’s not a small amount of money for a community Barstow’s size. Part of Mayor Lawrence Dale’s justification for switching firms is his belief the cost estimates by HDR have already doubled since the city contracted with them, though city staff have said that the cost was subject to change based on what technology the city chose for the upgrade.

If Dale and council members Tim Silva and Julie Hackbarth-McIntyre’s votes to change firms turn out to be right, residents will ultimately save money. MicroMedia claims they can complete the upgrade for $15 million as opposed to $24 million from HDR. If true, even with the money we’ve already lost, that would be about $7 million in savings.

But given MicroMedia’s lack of history, that is one great big “if.” We stand to lose much, much more if MicroMedia’s technology isn’t as effective as they claim. The city is obligated by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board to upgrade the wastewater facility by 2009, due to a significant amount of nitrate pollution in our water. Nitrates present a health risk to infants.

If the city does not meet Lahontan’s 2009 deadline for a facility upgrade, it could face fines up to $10,000 per day. These council members are risking a lot on MicroMedia’s ability to provide what they claim, without an established reputation to back it up.

We’re not going to say that the decision is wrong, because MicroMedia may well provide what they say they can provide. We are going to say that this decision is a huge gamble, and when you gamble with millions of taxpayer dollars, you tend to get only one chance at the table. If this project goes bust, Dale’s, Silva’s, and Hackbarth-McIntyre’s political careers may not recover.