Flint mayor and council members hopeful lead pipe replacement will move forward without more delays

By Best Plumbers On Apr 7, 2021

FLINT, me. (WYRT) – (04/06/2021) – The FAST Start program to replace Flint pipes is again suspended.

In 2017, a court order required the replacement of lead pipes in the city’s water system. The project was supposed to be completed by the end of 2019, but now, in April 2021, it is still ongoing.

“We have reached our goal. It is irresponsible to be stuck, ”said Mayor Sheldon Neeley.

Neeley says there are less than 500 service lines left and urges the city council to take action soon.

Flint’s service line replacement project has been paid for in state and federal dollars and more than 26,000 service lines have been excavated.

“When we got on board we were miserably behind, but now we are on the threshold. We have to do this, so we hope and pray that the city council will accomplish this, ”Neeley said.

Neeley said the city council must vote to approve the contracts with Rowe Professional Services for the job to be completed. The mayor says “petty politics” is getting in the way.

First Ward councilor Eric Mays says his job is to ask questions to Rowe, who is seeking a $ 500,000 contract to complete the tap water pipeline inspection and replacement.

Even so, he says that this program must go forward.

“I think the pressures of the weather and the season have a lot to do with these council votes too, but it’s not just the council. It’s the administration and the council. I don’t want people to point the finger wrongly at one branch of government compared to another. It’s guilt enough to go around, ”said Mays.

On the agenda for Wednesday’s Finance Committee meeting is Mays’ special order to discuss the lead replacement program and ask questions.

The Vice President of the Council, Maurice Davis, says, “Let’s get it done right now.”

“It’s frustrating to see something delayed that is so damaging to this community and everything we’ve been through, and this body, the city council, is delaying it. That should never happen, ”said Davis.

If the finance committee decides to submit the vote to the council, the city council’s approval can be given as early as Monday.

The pipe replacement program is free for residents.

You can still have your service line checked for lead by submitting a consent form on the city’s website.