Count the sani-cans to know

If you really want to know when the Bureau of Reclamation fire station will be completed, keep track of the sani-cans outside.

Star reporter Jacob Wagner gave a good rundown of the history of the project in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago.

I would like to fill in the story a bit.

The estimated cost of the project was $13.6 million. It is now estimated that the fire station will be completed in 2021. The project was started in 2016, with the awarding of the construction contract.

Total cost is a number that would be embarrassing even for any government agency.

If you were to guess, using $100,000 as the cost overrun, don’t keep track on your toes unless you have a lot of extra ones.

The contractor has been replaced once, and here’s “good luck” to the second one.

The word now is that it will take 6-8 months more for completion.

It’s interesting to note that it only took nine years to construct Grand Coulee Dam. Of course, our locals were not involved in that.

If I had been asked early on for a suggestion, I would have recommended that the bureau hire Dr. Dennis Carlson, a former superintendent of schools here. He knows how to plan, stretch a dollar and bring a project in on time.

Back to the sani-cans. If anyone suggests they know the actual completion date, I suggest they are full of the same substance in the sani-cans.

But here’s a hint. A few months ago there were five sani-cans lined up on the project property. Now there are only three. Watch the sani-cans!

When the last one disappears, it will be time to stretch the ribbon for special ceremonies.

Bureau leaders won’t stand in line for it, but I think it should go like this:

“Welcome to the ribbon cutting. First, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the costly waste of taxpayer funds. We hope we have learned enough from this project that we won’t be as incompetent on other projects as we were on this one.”

Such honesty would get this person elected to a high government office.

But don’t count on hearing a ribbon cutting ceremony like this.

Such incompetency would get a person or persons fired anywhere else.

Unless the sani-cans run over, the last one to leave the lot will be the most important one. Maybe this could be a weigh-in on government projects across the country. Maybe even having contractors have a flag waving for each sani-can and then taking them down until the final one is removed.

At least locally, keep track of the sani-cans so you will know when the fire station is complete.