011011 Bids come in low on Batdorf Road/Scenic Heights sewer project
By Sharon Haught
December 30, 2010
336
The residents of the Batdorf Road/Scenic Heights area received a late Christmas gift of sorts when the Wayne County Commissioners awarded a contract for the construction of the project that will connect those neighborhoods to the City of Woosters sewer system to Shreve-based G.E. Baker Construction during the commissioners final meeting of 2010.
According to engineering estimates prepared by the county, the costs for the construction portion were projected to run approximately $1,744,000. Baker Constructions actual bid totaled just $1,294,225, over $400,000 less than anticipated.
Thirteen contractors from throughout Ohio submitted bids for the project ranging from a high bid of $1.86 million to Baker Constructions low bid of just under $1.3 million.
It definitely came in lower than the engineers estimates, noted Commissioner Ann Obrecht adding that because this project will be paid for through assessments it will lower the assessments.
In a June 18, 2010 letter to Wooster Township residents affected by the project, based on the original engineering estimates the assessment on each of the 130 parcels of land included in the project was expected to be $10,640.
While the final assessment amount will not be available until the project is complete, that figure is expected to go down significantly.
I am glad that its lower than what we estimated, said Commissioner Jim Carmichael adding I dont know what the savings will be at the end of the day. We wont know that till the end of the project.
There could be unforeseen things out there but this is definitely good news for the Batdorf Road residents, said Obrecht.
According to Wayne County Budget Director Carol Zemrock the project will be financed through a combination of loans, grants and assessments to local residents.
In addition to a $500,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission, the county successfully obtained a $966,000 low interest loan and a $643,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Office.
According to Zemrock, under the terms of the USDA agreements, the county must spend all of the loan funds before it is able to access the $643,000 in USDA grant funding.
The next step in the process will be the submission of the contract with Baker Construction to USDA for approval.
The paperwork takes a little bit longer because of the involvement of the USDA, said Zemrock noting that Engineering Associates will prepare the final documents and submit them to USDAs office in Columbus for approval.
Mr. Baker already has some shop drawings available so they are certainly ready to get started but it will take a while before we can actually authorize an official start date and we wont do that till the point where we have the actual contracts approved, said Zemrock.
Zemrock noted that while the official start date for the project will likely be in January, actual construction is expected to get underway in April. Construction is expected to be complete approximately one year from the official January start.
The project is being undertaken under findings and orders issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 compelling the commissioners to formulate a plan to resolve drinking water quality issues in the Batdorf Road/Scenic Heights area after elevated levels of E. coli were detected in area wells.
While the commissioners investigated a number of options to resolve the problem, ultimately the most cost effective solution was to connect the area to the City of Woosters sewer system.
In April the commissioners approved the detailed engineering plans for the project and adopted a resolution declaring the necessity of the project in June.
