Amarillo approves emergency $211k transfer for Hollywood Road WWTP boiler replacement

Amarillo approves emergency $211k transfer for Hollywood Road WWTP boiler replacementFollowing the failure and condemnation of the existing boiler system at the Hollywood Road Wastewater Treatment Facility, the Amarillo City Council has authorized an emergency budget reallocation to secure engineering services from KSA Engineers.

The council approved transferring $211,000 from the Wastewater System Improvements & Repairs fund to a newly created project specifically for the boiler replacement.

The emergency replacement is required to restore heating capacity for the facility's digesters, which are essential for removing solids from the wastewater stream.

KSA Engineers, who were already onsite for a related project, will provide professional evaluation, design support, and coordination.

The approval was cited as a successful demonstration of the city's new Capital Improvement Program (CIP) transfer process.

The Amarillo City Council approved an emergency $211,000 budget transfer on August 11, 2026, to address a critical infrastructure failure at the Hollywood Road Wastewater Treatment Facility. The city initiated an emergency response following the failure and condemnation of the facility's existing boilers. The boilers are a critical component of the plant's treatment process, required to heat the digesters that remove solids from the wastewater stream. According to the agenda packet, the original boiler system was aged, and its replacement will require newer technology, necessitating professional engineering support. To expedite the emergency repairs, the city engaged KSA Engineers to provide evaluation, design support, and coordination for the boiler replacement. KSA Engineers was selected because the firm was already onsite providing technical services for a closely related project at the facility. The council unanimously approved the transfer of $211,000 from an existing Wastewater System Improvements & Repairs project (PRJ-0000132) to a newly created project (PRJ-0000221) dedicated to the boiler engineering services. During the meeting, a staff member identified as Mr. Hooper presented the item, noting that the emergency reallocation served as a real-time demonstration of the city's newly implemented Capital Improvement Program (CIP) transfer process. The transfer was proactively reviewed and approved by the CIP Oversight Committee and the City Manager before being brought before the council. "This item demonstrates the city's new CIP transfer process functioning as it is intended," Hooper told the council. "Before, we would have made that transfer and done that and came back and ratified it, and it would have been all over with. But this time, we're bringing the actual transfer to you for your approval." The transfer leaves the original Wastewater System Improvements & Repairs fund with an available balance of approximately $2 million.