After hitting a snag to significantly expand sewer capabilities at the Allen County Airport, county commissioners welcomed a reduced price tag and an extended deadline to get the project rolling.
Commissioners awarded the project to Nowak Construction for $1.97 million following a special executive session Thursday morning.
Bruce Boettcher with BG Consultants visited the commission in late March. The two bids he presented at that time — Nowak Construction in Goddard for $3.86 million and Tri-Star Utilities in Independence for $3.82 million — came in at $1.7 million more than estimates. The high costs were attributed to the restricted timeline on the grant money to be used for the project.
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. According to grant stipulations, the project was to be completed by January 2025.
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 had shared their concerns that it would be difficult to complete that part of the project within the grant’s short timeframe.
The initial plan was to install two pipes, a 3-inch and an 8-inch, to 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 was able to eliminate a few items from the project, was granted an extension to March 31, 2025 for the completion date from the Department of Commerce, and sent the project out for new bids. Following a bid opening on April 19, Nowak Construction had the low bid of $1,973,139.90, while Tri-Star’s bid came in at $2,000,645.
“The recommendation is to award the bid to Nowak Construction,” said Boettcher. “They have 150 days for substantial completion and 170 days for final completion.”
The commission unanimously approved the bid, contingent upon BASE grant approval.
“There is a scaling back from our original hopes for the development due to bids coming in higher than engineer estimates, but our hope is to move toward a usable industrial park at the airport with the possibility of more infrastructure work in the future if needed,” said Commissioner Bruce Symes.
In addition, Symes noted the breakdown of all the work is very involved. “Basically it is general contractor work at the airport and water and sewer line installations,” he said, adding that more details on cuts to the project would be available at the commission’s Tuesday meeting.
