July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

Bids lower for north end sewer

Portland Board of Works

By Rachelle [email protected]

Bids to run city sewer service to a new housing complex in Portland came in much lower than predicted.

The Portland Board of Works opened 13 bids Thursday morning to extend sewer service to Katelynn Place apartments. The lowest bid came in at $85,625.30 - much lower than the engineers' estimate of $150,000 to $200,000.

"These prices are phenomenal," Paul Vincent of The Schneider Corporation, said after the meeting. "We have a lot of hungry contractors."

Board members tabled the bids to give Schneider officials time to review them. The board will meet again to award a contract Thursday, March 25, at 10 a.m. at Portland City Hall.

The lowest bid was from LICA Construction, rural Berne. The bid also had a $31,536 option to extend the sewer line by an additional 900 feet to the east end of the apartment complex.

Plans call for a sewer line to run from the north lift station, along Industrial Park Drive, then straight east to Katelynn Place.

The line would be 1,700 feet long and stop just west of the apartment complex. The line would be run just south of and parallel to the Lafayette Street extension, which is yet to be constructed.

Vincent said he would like to city officials to vote to include the extra 900 feet, so the line will already be in place for the north side sewer separation project.

Also submitting some of the lowest base bids were Shinn Bros. Inc., Celina, Ohio, $86,868; RCM Excavating LLC, rural Gaston, $91,181.93; Fleming Excavating, rural Decatur, $99,425.13; and A. Landon Excavating, Portland, $99,568.53.

The highest bid came in at $153,999.99, with an option of $39,000 for the sewer line addition.

City clerk-treasurer Randy Geesaman said the city does not have a cost-sharing agreement for the line with Keller Development, which is constructing the apartment complex. He added that he believes such an agreement is not in the works.

Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier did not attend the meeting because he was in Washington D.C., lobbying for funds for the north side sewer separation project. Keller received $5.4 million in stimulus funds for the project.

In other business Thursday, board members voted to purchase 15 new air packs for Portland firefighters at a cost of $59,865 from Shore Towers Fire Apparatus.

The city's portion of the cost will be $2,994, because the fire department was awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The grant has a 95/5 percent match.

Portland Fire Chief Matt Aker said he also received quotes of $60,964.20 from 5 Alarm, and $85,954.95 from Donley Safety.[[In-content Ad]]
PORTLAND WEATHER

Events

November

SU
MO
TU
WE
TH
FR
SA
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
27 28 29 30 31 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30

To Submit an Event Sign in first

Today's Events

No calendar events have been scheduled for today.

250 X 250 AD