Council delays rebid after Custer Road tank bids exceed estimates; staff to pursue grant opportunity

Council members and staff discussed the town's Custer Road water storage tank project after two bids returned substantially above the engineers' estimate. A staff presenter told the council the engineering estimate was about $12,900,000 and the lowest proposal came in roughly $2 million over that figure.

"We had engineers estimate about 12,900,000. Two proposals came in. The lowest was almost 2,000,000 over what we had," staff said, adding that conversations with public works and the possibility of a grant prompted staff to pause and consider delaying a rebid until grant eligibility is determined (staff said they expected to know by about August).

Staff said the higher bids are driven by ground storage construction costs rather than changes in subscription or water demand; the delay would allow the town to pursue grant funding to help reduce the local budget impact before reissuing the procurement. After discussion of timing and capacity needs, a councilmember moved to approve the item on the agenda and the motion passed unanimously.

The town will await word on potential grant eligibility before recommencing a rebid process and will update the council later this year.