A bid for sanitary sewer and stormwater pipe lining rehabilitation was awarded to Inliner Solutions LLC for $723,902 by the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety Friday.
Wastewater Utility Superintendent Brian Davison said two bids were received and opened for the project Sept. 6. Inliner was the lower bid and has done work in the city before and do “great” work, he said in recommending the bid.
“It’s both storm and sewer rehab. We’re asking to award the base bid plus the alternates for the stormwater lining, which I believe are alternates 3, 4, 5 and 6,” he said.
Mayor Joe Thallemer asked if the funds were coming out of user fees. Davison said he believed they are using cumulative capital development for the stormwater portion and user fees for the wastewater portion of the project.
The board unanimously approved awarding the bid to Inliner.
The other bid received was from SAK Construction LLC for a base bid price of $836,926 plus $113,660 for the alternates for a total of $950,586.
The engineer’s estimate for the base bid project was $578,616, and both base bids were above the engineer’s estimate, according to provided documents. Inliner’s base bid was $617,987.
In other business, the board approved:
• Pay application No. 11 from CME Corp. for $126,216.25 for work they completed in August on the Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion renovation project, as requested by city engineer Aaron Ott.
He said pay application No. 12 might be the final one so they are getting near the end of the project. Ott said it will be nice.
Thallemer said there will be a “soft opening” on the pavilion Saturday with the Family Safety Day event, which is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Central Park and the pavilion. The public will be able to get their first look at the renovated pavilion.
There will be a ribbon-cutting on the pavilion with the Zimmer Biomet Foundation in a couple weeks. The foundation donated $2.5 million toward the renovation, with the city paying for $300-$400,000.
The Center Lake Recreational Trail project, that the Sasson family donated $1 million toward, is not yet completed but Thallemer said it’s also coming along well.
• Pay application No. 4 for $213,042.36 to G & G Hauling & Excavating Inc. for ongoing work on the CR 200S sewer expansion project.
Davison said G & G was moving right along and they are anticipating finishing putting the pipe in next week and closing up everything from there. He said there was still a delay with getting a permit from the Indiana Department of Transportation for the work around Ind. 15. He said it’s typically a six- to eight-week process, and NIPSCO needs four weeks to complete their work.
He said they’re still well ahead of the construction schedule.
• A stormwater agreement with Wessler Engineering for Prairie and Lake streets stormwater improvements for $39,700.
“These are areas that we have identified within the stormwater utility that need some improvement,” Davison said. “This area is - Prairie and Lake - sits right there at the south side of the old Marsh building and it’s one of those where you kind of scratch your head and wonder what they were thinking when they installed it.”
He said the sewer crosses the street, goes down and then crosses back and goes back the other side of the street. There’s been some issues in there with pipes and sinkholes “so we’re really wanting to get the engineers involved and probably remove most of what’s in there and then simplify and put it back in.”
Thallemer said the money for this also is coming out of the CCD budget.
• An amendment to the contract with Wessler Engineering for the Argonne Road storm sewer improvements for $17,000.
Davison said, “This is a project we’ve been talking about for a while. Originally, we were going to do it as a separate project, but we feel it’s probably most economical to tie this together. It looks at Durbin (Street) and Argonne, and we’re trying to get some of the water that goes down Argonne into the new roundabout out of that roundabout. So this will continue essentially on down Durbin and tie into that 42-inch (pipe) that we redirected a couple years ago, put in the stormwater quality structure, so all that water will run through that as well.”
• An agreement with Wessler Engineering for the reconstruction of the Prairie Street pump station for $74,900.
Davison said, “Down by where the nursing home facility is, we have water that stands in the street there. We have a small pump station there, and once again, we have some wastewater issues, too, down in that area. So this is going to look at sizing a pump station that will get the water. It may not ever still stand there but it will get the water out of the roadway much quicker than it currently does, and also we’re going to be able to improve the wastewater (problem) we have in that area.”
They’re looking at doing a combination pump station where one side of it is for wastewater and the other side is stormwater, separated in the middle.
“It’s a money-saving opportunity to do it that way instead of putting two structures in the ground,” Davison stated.
Thallemer said it’s been a chronic issue down there.
• A contract with A & Z Engineering LLC for designing, permitting and bid packets on Access Road and Frontage Road in front of Lake Village Shopping Center for $35,510, as requested by Public Works Superintendent Dustin Dillon.
He said the city took that road over a couple years ago, and now with Rural King and other businesses in there, the road is very busy and highly traveled area. The road project may turn into a smaller Community Crossings matching grant program project if funding for it can be identified, Dillon said. Next year is the goal.
• A contract with A & Z Engineering LLC for $50,965 for sidewalk, roadway, curb and gutter improvement work, including survey work, design and construction documents and a bid package. The sidewalk project is tentatively from South Union Street to Kincaide Street and then Kincaide to Ind. 15.
Dillon said hopefully the project will be sent to bid in November. The ultimate goal is to have the project done in summer 2024 when school is out.
Dollars are coming from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act fund.
• Pay application No. 3 for construction inspection services by The Troyer Group in the amount of $1,315.62 for the Lincoln neighborhood sidewalk project, as requested by City Planner Justin Taylor. INDOT is reimbursing 80% of each pay application for the contract.
• The new hire/change in payroll report as presented by Human Resource Director Denny Harlan.
He said the city was rehiring Jaxson Hastings as a part-time firefighter. He was a part-time firefighter before, went to the parks department for the summer to be a lifeguard and was returning to the fire department as a part-time firefighter. His hourly pay will be $14.68.
Harlan said they’re also adding ERT and firearms stipends back to Warsaw Police Department Lt. Wayne Wilkie’s pay as he recently returned from deployment so he’s now doing those duties again. Wilkie’s biweekly pay is $3,408.92.
Thallemer said, “We’re certainly delighted to see him back.” Wilkie spent eight months in Kosovo.