Council votes to sue water tank designer

The Willow Park City Council voted unanimously to file a lawsuit against Halff Associates, the company that designed the water line from Fort Worth to Willow Park and Hudson Oaks, at a special meeting held on Tuesday, July 18.

The lawsuit stems from an event in November of 2020, when it was discovered that the original estimated cost for the water line and associated equipment was going to be about $6.5 million short.

The city had already procured funding from the Texas Water Development Board for the original estimate of $13.4 million. Once Halff had discovered its error, the cost shot up to $19.9 million, leaving the city in the position of having to issue certificates of obligation to cover the difference.

The Willow Park City Council voted to issue the certificates at its Nov. 10, 2020 meeting. At that same meeting, representatives from Halff explained how the error was made, and committed to working through the issue with the cities of Willow Park and Hudson Oaks.

After this week’s meeting, Willow Park City Manager Bryan Grimes said there had not been satisfactory progress in that process.

“We’ve been working through that process for probably over a year now,” Grimes said. “And we haven’t been satisfied with the elements. And I think we’ve reached the point where it was time to file suit.”

Following an executive session, council member Lea Young made a motion “to reject any settlement offers from Halff and Associates on the litigation and authorize the city attorney to file suit.”

Wastewater plant re-do

In other action, the council voted to reject any bids that have not been withdrawn on the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant and to begin the process over.

Following a lengthy process of finding a suitable location for its new treatment plant, the city entered into an agreement with Willow Park Baptist Church for a property swap. The current plant sits adjacent to property owned by the church, and is leased by the city.

Under the agreement, the new wastewater plant would be built on the church’s original land, and the church would get the land occupied by the current plant.

The city went out for bids in May of this year for construction of the plant. However, the low bidder, MH Civil Constructors, withdrew its bid, and the next low bidder and the city were unable to connect.

City council member Eric Contreras made a motion to reject  “all non withdrawn bids for the construction of the new Wastewater Treatment Plant” and authorize the city to re-advertise for bids and to make a claim on the bid bond of MH Civil Constructors Incorporated.

The motion was approved by the council, as was a motion to notify Willow Park Baptist Church that the city would extend its lease of the property for two more years until Aug. 18, 2025.