Allen County will seek new bids for a sewer project at the airport, after initial costs came in at $1.7 million more than estimates.
The higher costs are attributed to a tight timeline because the project is funded by a grant, Bruce Boettcher with BG Consultants, told commissioners at a meeting Tuesday.
“I’m the bearer of bad news this morning,” he said before presenting two bids, one from Nowak Construction in Goddard for $3.86 million and one from Tri-Star Utilities in Independence for $3.82 million.
Engineers predicted costs would be closer to $2.1 million. The project is funded by a grant of nearly $3 million from the Kansas Department of Commerce as part of the Building a Stronger Economy (BASE) program. The project must be completed by January 2025, according to grant stipulations.
Boettcher recommended commissioners allow him to trim a few items from the project, contact the Commerce department for extra time and send the project out for new bids.
The project requires contractors to remove rock in the area fields, a process that could take a significant amount of time and effort. Contractors aren’t sure just how much rock they’ll encounter and shared their concerns that it would be difficult to complete that part of the project within the grant’s short timeframe, Boettcher told commissioners.
Representatives of Thrive Allen County, which helped the county obtain the grant, assured commissioners they were likely to get an extension from the Commerce Department.
Commissioners agreed the best option is to seek changes and send the project out for a second bid process.
“I think everyone realizes that’s the only option we have,” Commissioner Jerry Daniels said.
The initial plan was to install two pipes, a 3-inch and an 8-inch, and connect to the City of Iola’s sewer system. The goal is to upgrade infrastructure near the airport to attract a variety of industries. Boettcher outlined options to reduce the length of the project or reduce capacity to one line instead of two.
They told Boettcher they don’t want to pare down the process too much, though.
“Are we going to hamstring future commissioners?” Commissioner David Lee asked.
“As we consider options on shaving back the project, I don’t want to make it harder for future commissioners,” Commission Chairman Bruce Symes said. “But I like the idea of taking a breath.”
Daniels suggested Boettcher reduce the scope of the project and expand the timeline, and ask contractors to provide alternate options for things they cut.
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