BURTON CITY COUNCIL APPROVES CONTRACT FOR LIFT STATION IMPROVEMENTS
The Burton City Council moved unanimously on Tuesday to award a construction services contract for the Knittel lift station improvement project.
Development Manager with
Aoka Engineering, speaks to
the Burton City Council on
Tuesday about the firm and its
work assisting cities with
developing ordinances to
prepare for expected growth.
The council selected Rub-A-Dub Plumbing out of four bidders for the project, which is part of the city’s continued emphasis on water and wastewater system improvements.
The company’s base bid came in at $337,576. An alternate bid to install a coating system on the walls of the existing lift station wet well brings the total cost to $354,721.
The city’s budget for the project primarily comes from grant funding through the Texas Department of Agriculture, in the amount of $327,500. The city will have to use $27,221 of its own money to take care of the cost not covered by the grant.
Councilmembers and staff felt that the coating system alternate was worth the additional cost now, as any potential issues caused by not selecting the protective coating would cost the city much more later on.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the council visited with representatives from Aoka Engineering, a planning and development firm that specializes in planning and inspection services for cities. Business Development Manager Rocky Rodriguez said the firm prepares emerging or near-emerging cities with ordinances covering subdivisions and building code so that they can safely handle an influx in construction and development. The item was only a presentation, so no action was taken, but Mayor Karen Buck said the city will plan to continue conversations moving forward.
Several local business owners and tourism partners spoke at the beginning of the council meeting about the formation of a new organization, the Destination Burton Association, and its upcoming Small Town Summit on January 12th to discuss the importance of hospitality and tourism-driven economic development for Burton’s future.
In other business, the council approved the city’s 2026 holiday schedule and took no action on a request from the Washington County Appraisal District to reallocate a surplus for specified uses. By not taking action, the council agrees to allow the appraisal district to use the city’s portion of $310,870 in surplus funding for purposes including renovating the appraisal district office; replenishing the fleet, computer hardware replacement, and legal funds; and updating the appraisal district website with videos for taxpayer education. The City of Burton’s estimated refund would have come out to $544.