City council accepts recommendation to award wastewater contract to PACE for $21.9 million

Shepherdsville’s city council on Feb. 24 accepted staff’s recommendation to award the wastewater treatment plant improvements contract to PACE Contracting for $21,895,000.

The mayor asked Mark Snead to present bid results; Snead said the Economic Development Administration approved the bid award and the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA) signed off last Friday. “We obtained the approval from the Economic Development Administration to award the bids,” Snead told the council, adding that KIA “were completely satisfied and authorized the award of the contract.”

Council members discussed debt structuring and whether the project’s payments could be wrapped with existing city debt through KIA. The mayor summarized financial considerations tied to local economic sensitivity, saying delayed bourbon-industry production could affect revenues but adding that projected growth over the next three to five years made the project sustainable. After discussion the council moved, seconded and voted to accept the recommendation to award the contract to PACE; staff were asked to follow up with KIA and keep council updated on final financing terms.

The award follows earlier procurement steps: solicitations reviewed at previous meetings, the EDA’s approval, and a KIA financing review. Council members stressed the need for ongoing updates to ensure debt service remains manageable and directed staff to provide any new KIA terms to council when available.

The council did not adopt construction contract documents at the meeting; staff indicated they would supply final paperwork, renderings and financing details to council for record and follow-up.