CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield Municipal Authority has been discussing the Mount Joy Pumping Station for a few years now.
The station needs to either be repaired or replaced and the authority has applied for a grant for the project two years in a row, and each time the project has been passed over.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Engineer Jim Balliet of Gwin, Dobson & Foreman Inc. recommended that the authority bid the project, which has already been designed and permitted, and see what the actual construction cost would be.
The plan is to refurbish the pumping station and Balliet said they estimate the cost to be around $218,000, though they hope it will be less.
The board approved a motion to put the project out for bid with the bids to be reviewed at the February meeting.
The board also learned that the contractor for the Pine Grove North water main extension project has installed about 70 percent of the pipe. The tank foundation site work has been completed and construction of the tank should begin soon.
Balliet said they are also finalizing the designs for some additional areas the state Department of Environmental Protection wanted to add to the project.
There was some brief discussion regarding the type of pipe used in the project and the need to invest in some new equipment and training.
The pipe is high-density polyethylene and instead of the traditional construction, which includes joints, the sections of pipe are fused with thermal welding, resulting in a continuous line and a system that is less likely to break or leak.
However, special equipment is needed to work on the pipe in the event there is a problem. CMA Manager John Williams said he would look into what the authority needs and report back.