Tobin water situation still in limbo
Community Development Commission Executive Director Roger Diefendorf hasn’t given up on Tobin getting water.
At the regular monthly CDC meeting Tuesday, Dec. 17, Diefendorf said he was in contact with a Tahoe-based construction company that might be willing to do the work.
“Now that the weather’s changed,” Diefendorf said another company came forward possibly willing to do the pipeline work.
Diefendorf said that whether the contractor actually sends in a proposal is another matter.
Another company, this one in Chico, indicated they could do the work. Their proposal included the rental of a rail truck at $17,000 a week. Diefendorf didn’t see that contractor finishing the job in a week and thus the contract would end up costing far more than what’s still available to complete the work.
There’s also an issue of when track time is available from Union Pacific Railroad. A contractor can’t work with trains using the railroad bridge.
“We’re making progress, but we’re still in limbo,” Diefendorf added.
Earlier in the fall, Supervisor Jeff Engel, Public Works Director Bob Perreault and others visited the Tobin site. They were inspecting the site to see if the work was something the county could finish.
Engel said that the pipe wasn’t even connected. He said that Joe Blackwell, deputy director at public works, found that the pipe was also split.
“At least we made it through a fire season,” Engel commented, which was one of his concerns earlier in the year. He’s optimistic that Tobin residents will get their water in 2020.
