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The City of Williamsport has approved a transfer ordinance to pay for items associated with an engineering company doing levee work.
The ordinance will ensure payment for items related to the ongoing semi-quantitative risk analysis being done by WSP engineers.
The discussions occurred at the finance committee and at the council meeting.
"We did not give the flood levee budget any line item in Act 13 or natural gas impact fee fund not realizing that this analysis was not completed and fully paid out," said Jamie Livermore, city finance director. The total amount is $169,900, she said.
The remainder for 2025 of that project will be $72,041 that the city has left in the project to pay, she noted. This will put the money in a flood levee line item so the city is able to pay those invoices when they come in, she said.
Councilwoman Liz Miele, chair of the finance committee, asked Livermore if these were prior contracts and noted it was her understanding the company has not exceeded the budgeted amount.
"Correct," Livermore said. "In 2023 the budget was set at $77,000 and in 2024 the budget was adjusted with a change order to add another $92,900." The total budget is $169,900 as of the resolution in 2024 and there is no change to the budget. The city paid $63,000 in 2023, has been billed $34,400 for 2024 and the remainder of the cost for this year is a bit over $72,000. If that would go into 2026 and the whole $72,000 would not be paid in 2025 the city will ensure that is reflected in the 2026 budget, according to the discussion.
Miele said she did not believe there was funding left in the levee allocation from the American Rescue Plan fund.
"Right," Livermore said. "You reallocated it to an emergency and reserve fund. In 2024, there was $175,000 set aside for the flood levee, according to records.
"We hadn't received the invoices before the end of 2024 and did not spend any of this but have with recent invoices that came in," Livermore said.
The city has run up against levee engineering services change orders and increases over these years and WSP has provided a documentation of what services have been done for the semi-quantitiative risk analysis.
Still, no ground has been broken on the levee.
Councilman Randy Allison observed how the latest information from engineers is that it could be another three years before that happens.
"Can we make certain we work with a variety of firms in this effort?" Miele asked, issuing a disclaimer that she was not passing any judgment on WSP but that she felt more comfortable with several companies getting involved in the next phases of levee work.
Allison noted how that (ask) might be complicated, but could be doable and said there is momentum now that there is the $8 million federal earmark and the $3 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
"That should get us halfway there," Miele said.
Valerie Fessler, director of city community and economic development, said the city was in the process of writing multiple requests for proposals that, she said, "would, hopefully, be out this spring and the work will take place this year."
The levee must be recertified under guidelines for levees built by the Army Corps of Engineers after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This levee, the second largest in the Baltimore Army Corps of Engineers district, was completed in the mid-1950s.