City staff recommends $650,000 award to Dirt Dog Excavation for Little Walnut Creek sewer work

Sunbury City staff told the services committee on May 6 that they recommend awarding construction services for the Little Walnut Creek interceptor Phase 2a to Dirt Dog Excavation at $650,000 to allow work to be completed before a county roundabout project begins.

Staff said Dirt Dog was the low bidder, submitting a bid just under $600,000, and recommended the $650,000 award in order to include roughly a 10% contingency. The work would install approximately 560 linear feet of gravity sanitary sewer that will bypass and provide relief for an existing pump station on Cheshire Road and increase overall system capacity.

Staff explained the timing is driven by the county’s roundabout plan at Golf Course Road and Cheshire Road: the county’s right-of-way is expected to be cleared by Sept. 1, and city staff would prefer to have the sewer installed underground before the county begins construction to avoid redoing work. Staff said contractor onboarding could take three to six weeks or more for first-time vendors, followed by a preconstruction meeting and assessment of long-lead materials.

Committee members asked for map clarifications and timing; staff confirmed Phase 2 was split into 2A and 2B to accelerate the portion closest to the future roundabout. No final council vote on the contract was recorded in the services meeting; staff said the recommendation would be presented to council for approval.

The committee moved on to other agenda items after the discussion. The services committee meeting concluded without a final award vote recorded in this transcript.