GRANGER — A lack of water is still keeping students, staff and faculty from moving into Granger Independent School District’s new secondary campus and athletic facilities.
City officials have assured Granger ISD personnel they are working on the problem, but school district representatives said there seems to be no end in sight.
Town leaders have attributed delays to an ongoing project that involves boring under the railway and requires clearance from Union Pacific Railroad.
Updates about the delayed opening were presented during a recent school board session.
“Obviously, water and sewer are our holdup at this point,” said Aaron Mullins, senior project manager of Project Control, which works with other contractors on construction of the new building.
Mullins said most of the work is complete at the secondary school and athletic complex; passing a fire-safety test is next.
“A fire pump has to be started up once we have a full water flow at the site,” Mullins said.
The test is scheduled for Oct. 20, but if the district still does not have water available at the site, then it will have to be postponed. Rescheduling will take another four to six weeks, which would push the test to late November or early December.
“I’m talking to the city about getting full water flow out there (for the day of the test),” Mullins said.
In addition, city sewer connections to the secondary school do not seem to be working, officials said.
Both Mullins and Superintendent Stephen Brosch have repeatedly reached out to the city, they said.
“We keep getting a response that they have a plan in the place, but they’re not disclosing that plan,” Brosch said.
Mayor Bruce Waggoner, however, said he has been very transparent about providing updates.
“I cannot guarantee a date because (the city) is at the mercy of RailPros and their timeline,” he said.
RailPros provides onsite coordination and project management for UP. Any request, such as boring under the rail line to connect water services, goes through RailPros, which then relays it to UP.
Waggoner said on Sept. 4 the city received approval from UP and RailPros for a third bore attempt.
Waggoner said he knows the city has been “catching a lot of heat over this,” adding he wants the water connected as much as the school district.
“I knew what I was getting into when I ran for mayor, and that’s one of the reasons I did it, to get this taken care of,” Waggoner said.
The next school board meeting is 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15 in the boardroom at 300 N. Colorado St.
