City makes progress on infrastructure projects, purchases

Published 4:57 pm Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Several infrastructure projects throughout the city of Meridian are moving forward with the City Council set to take action on a number of items and purchases at an upcoming meeting.

In a work session Tuesday, Public Works Director David Hodge said his department will be asking the council to approve the purchase of special monitoring equipment for the city’s wastewater lift stations. The city maintains 68 lift stations, which are responsible for keeping sewage flowing toward the wastewater treatment plants.

As part of its compliance with the federal consent decree to stop sewer overflows, the city has already installed remote monitoring equipment at several lift stations, Hodge said, and this purchase will add several more to the list.

Hodge said there is just one vendor in the state that is licensed to carry the brand of equipment the city uses, and he would like to make it a sole source purchase if possible. Staying consistent with the equipment is recommended for compatibility reasons, and the city has already invested a significant amount in the lift stations it previously outfitted with the monitoring equipment.

Katie Davis, an attorney with Glover, Young, Hammack, Walton and Simmons PLLC, which acts as the city attorney, said her recommendation is to get a second quote for the monitoring equipment just to be on the safe side of purchasing regulations. Staying with the same brand could be used to justify taking a more expensive quote, but it is shaky ground for a sole source purchase, she said.

David Ruhl of Waggoner Engineering, which acts as program manager for the consent decree, said the city has a similar situation already in place with water meters. Meridian only uses Mueller water meters, he said. No other brands of water meters are allowed.

Whatever brand the city decides to purchase, Ruhl said he recommends making sure all 68 lift stations have the same thing.

“My recommendation is to only have one system,” he said.

Another sewer project, the West Meridian Trunkline Phase 2B project is set to begin advertising for bids within the next few weeks. Hodge said the project will include relining of roughly 2,100 feet of sewer line from Queen City Truck Stop to Maples Gas on 65th Avenue.

“We’re very excited, finally getting the western trunk like repaired,” he said

A pedestrian safety project in the medical district is also moving forward with officials hoping to see work begin later this year. Brent Quick, with Neel-Schaffer, an engineering firm assisting with the project, said the work will include sidewalk and crosswalk construction between 18th and 19th avenues and from 12th to 14th streets.

The project is expected to have a construction cost of $800,000 to $1 million, Quick said, with the majority of the funding coming from a grant. The city has received a Transportation Alternatives Program, or TAP, grant to pay for the bulk of the work, he said, but Meridian will be required to put up 20% of the cost itself.

Funding for the local portion is set to come from the city’s internet sales tax allocation.

As more projects move toward construction, work began this week on a bank stabilization project addressing erosion along Magnolia Creek. The project, which is taking place near the intersection of 14th Street and Front Street near the Chicken Basket, is being funded through a grant from the National Resource Conservation Service.

Public Works officials previously announced the project due to erosion of the banks placing undue pressure on water and sewer lines running through the area. The work will involve stabilizing the utility lines, repairing the damaged slopes and installing anti-erosion measures.