Zooming in
With Fulshear expanding at such a rapid speed, working through their contractor, Inframark, has become more difficult, Glynn said.
By moving utility work in-house, Glynn can oversee every step of the process when things go wrong, which the city currently has to call Inframark for.
“If I have in-house personnel and they say, ‘Hey, I have a lift pump not working,’ I say, ‘Check the rags, check the amps, check to make sure it’s not overheating, check electrical,’ and we will be able to see all of that step by step,” Glynn said. “At the end of the day, it may still have to get pulled and sent to a shop to rebuild, but at least we would have the steps leading up to it.”
By the numbers
Moving utilities in-house will save the city $2 million. Of the savings, $500,000 will go to hire eight technicians during fiscal year 2025-26, Glynn said.
“Ideally I’d like to [hire] water and wastewater double-license operators,” Glynn said. “I know they cost more to bring them in, so those positions probably won’t get filled until halfway through the year, February, March next year.”
The new technicians will take on a multitude of tasks, including:
- Cutting grass
- Pulling electrical boards
- Changing chemicals
- Changing tubing
- Cleaning tanks
- Fixing fences
- Sampling water and wastewater
- Running water quality control
- Pulling manhole lids to make sure sewer lines are flowing clean
Additionally, city officials could add a supervisory control and data acquisition system, allowing the city to run the system from a centralized location during emergencies.
Looking ahead
Glynn said residents can expect response time to improve once processes go in-house. Additionally, he said it will help improve the city’s water quality with plans to improve the ranking of the city’s water system within two years.
“We’re gonna do this, this is definitely in the best interest of the city,” Glynn said. “Financially, but more importantly, for the quality control.”
