SCDA Purchases Pump for Hayestone Brady Business Park Liftstation

The Stephens County Development Authority is moving to bring its waste water lift station at the Hayestone-Brady Business Park fully online.

Thursday, the Development Authority board voted unanimously to purchase a lift station pump at a cost of $104,194 from a company called Smith and Loveless.

That bid was the lowest of two bids received for the pump. The other bid was from a company called Gorman-Rupp at a cost of $129,912.

Stephens County Development Authority Executive Director Tim Martin said that the lift station was constructed as part of the original build out of Hayestone-Brady.

However, he said putting the pump in at the time the lift station was constructed did not make the most sense for multiple reasons.

“We dug the hole, we framed it and cased it out, we put a chain link fence around it, of those things,” said Martin. “We did not buy or place the pump in the ground for two reasons. Number one, the warranty on the pump would have started on the day we bought it and we did not the warranty to expire before it was actually used. We did not have a need for it, but we wanted to be ready for it. That is why we did all of the work, but we did not order the pump. The second reason is we did not want that asset on the ground where vandals could get to it.”

However, Martin said the situation has changed with this week’s announcement that Project Hummingbird, or NIFCO KTW, will be moving into Hayestone-Brady.

He said having that facility in the business park will cause the lift station to now be needed in a fully operational capacity, so putting the pump in now makes sense.

“It will take several months for it to be manufactured and shipped to us so we can put it in the ground, plug it in, turn it on, and have it ready for Hummingbird,” said Martin.

Martin said the Development Authority did save money from SPLOST V to have on hand in order to pay for the lift station pump.

As for NIFCO KTW, Martin said plans are moving along quickly.

In the project agreement, construction on the company’s building was set to start later this year.

However, Martin said that they are moving right along and could get started with some things in a matter of weeks.

“The plan review process has already begun,” said Martin. “They hope to have a construction trailer in the end of July, start some things the first of August.”

According to Martin, November 2016 is when the plant needs to be in production.

Martin said that NIFCO KTW is also meeting with Evans General Contractors, which has offices in both Greenville, South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, regarding the construction of the building.