By Zoe Seiler, contributor

Avondale Estates, GA – The Avondale Estates City Commission at its May 18 meeting authorized the city manager to enter a $125,150 contract with an environmental engineering consulting firm, Brown and Caldwell, to evaluate the city’s stormwater system and identify any problems.

The city sent out a request for proposals for this project in February and received four proposals. City staff unanimously recommended Brown and Caldwell.

“We feel that they have the depth, knowledge and the breadth of experience to be able to perform the work that we need performed to the most effective manner possible,” City Manager Patrick Bryant said.

The goal of the project is to create a stormwater master plan that will help the city address issues with its stormwater system.

“The aim that we are trying to shoot for is figuring out the depth and breadth of our existing system, where the faults lie within that system and prioritizing those faults that we can then add to the capital program and tick off one by one in order to rebuild and rehabilitate the existing system that was given to us by the county,” Bryant said at the work session on May 13.

Assistant City Manager Shannon Powell said the city looked at each firm’s project understanding, their schedule as well as the experience of the firm and the individuals. The city also evaluated the cost range of the proposals.

“Brown and Caldwell stood out on all fronts. They were strong in every single category,” Powell said. “They proposed to do a survey of the entire stormwater system so that we started with a strong baseline.”

The project will include a variety of tasks such as public outreach. Brown and Caldwell will develop an online public outreach resource so residents can provide input on stormwater issues, according to the proposal.

The firm will also develop a plan for two public meetings. The first meeting will give an overview of the project goals, objectives and schedule. The meeting dates were not listed in the proposal.

The primary goal of the project is for Brown and Caldwell to collect data. The company also will assess the stormwater system.

Once those tasks are complete, Brown and Caldwell will set priorities, create concept plans and develop a capital project plan that summarizes project activities, according to the proposal.

“I think it’s a great start to us beginning to understand the scope of the work that’ll need to be done on both the residential and also on the central business district side to deal with stormwater challenges,” Commissioner Brian Fisher said.

The next City Commission meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. on June 17. More information will be available on the city’s website closer to the meeting date about the location of the meeting. City Hall is currently closed and Mayor Jonathan Elmore previously said all meetings will be held online until further notice.

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