Henderson City Council approves $600k for Somerset Park pipe repairs

Henderson’s city council unanimously approved over $600,000 on Tuesday to fund repairs to Somerset Park, a town home complex whose crumbling water system was described by the city as an “imminent hazard” to public safety.

Residents of the Sunset and Pabco roads-area complex were notified by the city in a letter taped to their doors on Aug. 26 that the complex’s water system was in such a dire state that arrangements for repair work would need to be made by Sept. 10, or the city would possibly shut off the water.

Faced with the prospect of having to vacate their homes indefinitely while those repairs were undertaken, the residents reacted with shock and fear.

After the homeowners association’s management company, CAMCO, said that it had inherited a homeowners association marred by financial mismanagement and that there was little money to make the fixes, the city ultimately agreed to front the cost of the repair work.

Repairs were estimated to cost between $400,000 and $600,000, Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero had previously said.

As part of the city’s solution, residents would not be forced to vacate their homes. The city would then charge homeowners through tax liens on each town home, according to the city.

Henderson will pay Triple J Trenching $603,870 for emergency pipe repair at Somerset Park, according to the contract between the city and Triple J Trenching.

According to additional agenda items, Triple J Trenching requires $453,325 for water service replacements, $37,215 for asphalt pavement patching and $113,330 for contingencies. Examples of contingencies mentioned by Triple J Trenching are potential weather and supplier delays.

If more repair work is needed, the city was authorized “to execute amendments for additional work in an amount not to exceed $1,200,000.00, if necessary,” according to language in the agenda item.

Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.com. Follow @annievwrites on X.