Lafayette City approves BFNS water‑main study, reviews lead‑line bids and awards boiler work

The Lafayette City board on May 20, 2026 approved an on‑call services agreement with engineering firm BFNS and authorized task order #1, a route feasibility study to evaluate a potential large‑diameter transmission main from the Glick Wellfield to the city’s upper pressure system. Legal counsel and staff described the study scope as including corridor evaluation (Union Street, Sagamore Parkway, Greenbush, Underwood and connecting collectors), utility coordination, easement and right‑of‑way review, and constructability considerations. The task order was authorized at $47,000 with an anticipated completion in approximately 75 days.

Separately, Lafayette Waterworks superintendent Steve Moore presented an engineer‑certified bid tabulation for the lead service line replacement project, phase 2. The record shows the contract price reported at $14,959,865; Moore said the city intends to use a total of $10 million toward the project comprised of $5 million in grant funds and a $5 million 0% interest loan from the Indiana State Revolving Fund (SRF). Moore told the board that notice of award will be presented after a bond closing scheduled for June 18, 2026, and that the bid will remain under advisement until that date.

In other procurement business, purchasing manager Dave Payne recommended awarding a boiler‑replacement contract at Lafayette Renew to DA Dodd for $148,900; the board approved the recommendation, the contract, and a conditioned notice to proceed to be set once the replacement boiler arrives.

The city also opened bids for a Columbian Park ramp neighborhood project (three bids announced on the record) and took those bids under advisement. Multiple routine special‑event closures and claims were approved in the same session.

The BFNS study is intended to clarify route feasibility in a heavily developed corridor and to inform future planning and construction steps. The lead service line replacement project, once funded and awarded after the bond closing, will proceed under the financing plan Moore described, with contractor invoicing limited to work completed after the city’s funding allocation is used.