Poplar Bluff wastewater treatment plant upgrades on hold as council examines bids

Questions surrounding bids for an $18.2 million upgrade to Poplar Bluff’s wastewater treatment plant resulted in two split votes Monday night before council members decided to hold another workshop session on the matter.

Four companies have bid on the project, with Brockmiller Construction of Farmington, Mo. submitting the apparent low bid, according to city documents.

Brockmiller Construction submitted a base bid of $17.044 million. A bid alternate for pump replacement would cost an additional $1.1 million, for a total project cost of $18.2 million. Engineers have said an award would be made on the base bid.

Council member Shane Cornman questioned components of the company’s bid that he described as being unbalanced compared to other bids.

“This is one of the more unbalanced bids that I’ve seen,” Cornman said.

He cited charges for replacement of blowers and reconfiguration of blowers, which would cost $5,000 per unit on Brockmiller’s bid. The next lowest bid for these line items would be $89,000 and $30,000 respectively, per unit, under a bid from KAJACS Contractors of Poplar Bluff.

Roberston Contractors of Poplar Bluff submitted a base bid of $17.560 million; River City Construction of East Peoria, Illinois was $17.595 million; and KAJACS Contractors of Poplar Bluff was $17.895 million.

Cornman made a motion to table the bids, which failed 4-3 with support from only council members Robert Smith and Steve Davis.

A motion by council member Ed DeGaris to move the item to the April 1 voting session also failed 4-3, with support from council member Ron Black and Mayor Susan McVey.

The item finally moved forward as a workshop item on April 2, with a motion by council member Barb Horton. It was approved unanimously.

Engineers with Smith & Company answered questions Monday afternoon regarding possible imbalances in the bids. The matter was taken up during a Municipal Utilities Advisory Board meeting. Advisory board members recommended accepting the apparent low bidder. MU General Manager Bill Bach also spoke on the matter during the council meeting.

A bid must be found to be imbalanced both mathematically and in materials to be removed from consideration, project manager Greg Bell of Smith & Company Engineers, said during the afternoon advisory board meeting.

This has not been found with the Brockmiller bid, he said. About a dozen items will be received by the companies from one main supplier, Bell explained. On eight of the items, Brockmiller had a lower cost and was close on the other five, he said.

On advice from attorneys, Smith & Company has to recommend the low bidder, said Billy Cobb, engineering manager.

“Because we are confident in their work and they’re the low bid, if we recommend anything different than that, we’re opening ourselves up for a lawsuit. From Smith & Company’s standpoint, that’s where we’re at,” Cobb said.

Bach also said on advice of an attorney, the utility needed to recommend the low bidder.

“If we don’t have a valid reason for kicking out the apparent low bidder, which they’ve worked with Smith and Company on other projects, it would be hard for us to defend the action,” said Bach.

If a bidder is approved by the council, the matter must then be taken up and approved by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Bach said.

It could take three months to get DNR approval. Construction is expected take 12 to 14 months, once it begins.

Project funding and rate increases

The project is being paid for with up to $20 million in bonds secured with a low-interest loan from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources State Revolving Fund. Final cost will be determined after it is put out for bid in the summer, Bell said.

Voters passed the bond measure in 2012.

A rate increase will also be part of this project, enacted into phases over the time of the construction. It pays for the project, interest, a slight increase in operation and maintenance due to the changes and a contingency fund required by the funding agency to ensure payments can be made, officials have said.

Construction

Construction for the project was originally expected to begin in 2016, but the city saw delays from regulatory and funding agencies, Bell has said previously.

Under Poplar Bluff’s current lagoon system, wastewater flows through three lagoons over a period of 15-20 days to breakdown the amount of organic material through a biological process.

Heat assists the process. Floating covers, which would increase the collection of heat, will be added to the lagoons as part of the design to retrofit the current system.

The work also requires the addition of a concrete basin after the lagoons to reduce the amount of ammonia and nitrogen in the treated wastewater. Also added will be disinfection through ultraviolet lamps to reduce E. coli.

Permit

DNR issued Poplar Bluff a new permit March 1, 2015, which set tighter restrictions on the measurements of dissolved oxygen, ammonia and suspended solids in treated wastewater. The standards help determine the effectiveness of the treatment plant.

Issuance of the permit comes after 13 years of negotiations between the city and DNR concerning the changes. The permit is issued through 2022.

A city settlement agreement with DNR also includes clauses which say changes required to accommodate any increased restrictions have to be deemed affordable, officials have said.

• The new permit sets limits of 20 milligrams per liter for both Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids.

The retrofitted lagoons will be capable of providing BOD at 12 mg/L and TSS at 15 mg/L.

• The permit also sets ammonia limits at 1.5 milligrams per liter in the summer and 2.6 milligrams per liter in the winter.

Ammonia could be as low as 0.6 mg/L for the lagoon system.

• No nitrogen limits are set by the current permit. The lagoon system could produce 10 mg/L.