The Wichita City Council unanimously approved a contract with an outside firm to provide technical assistance for the start-up and initial operation of the new water treatment plant, located near I-235 and Zoo Boulevard.
The facility is scheduled to come on-line in April of 2025. Before that can happen, standard operating procedures need to be developed and city staff must be trained on the new facility, while also still running the current water plant.
Council member Brandon Johnson says given the investment made in the facility, it's important to get it started off on the right foot.
While the $4.06 million expense wasn't a part of the design-build contract for the plant, city leaders say the expense was expected and reiterate it won't impact water rates.
The one-year contract with Operational Technical Services brings the cost of the new plant to around $498 million dollars.
Also at Tuesday's meeting, the council approved a $50,000 funding proposal for the Project Downtown Master Plan Update.
Jeff Fluhr, President of the Greater Wichita Partnership, reports that since the plan’s last update in 2010, there has been $1.7 billion in investments to 110 projects in the downtown area.
More than $330,000 has been secured from private investors and $50,000 from Sedgwick County. Once the updated plan is complete, city leaders expect it to drive growth over the next 10 years.