Water tower repainting bids come in under budget

   Action was taken on two big city projects during the Feb. 19 Monticello City Council meeting.

   The council approved a notice to bidders, setting a public hearing, plans/specifications, form of contract and estimate of cost for the N. Chestnut Street Reconstruction Project.

   A public hearing will take place on Monday, March 18, at 6 p.m. regarding the proposed plans.

   The paving project encompasses 2,000 square yards of pavement, 600 linear feet of water main, and 1,500 linear feet of subdrain from W. Second Street to W. Third Street. It does include both intersections as well. In addition, the project will involve sidewalk ramp reconstruction.

   The engineer’s estimate for this project is $575,000 without the bid alternate to replace the street with the brick pavers.

   Council member Mary Phelan asked if Chestnut Street would be widened as part of the project, noting that is tends to get narrow the further north you travel.

   Colton Ingels with Snyder & Associates (city engineer) said there are no plans to widen the street.

   “It’ll be the same width,” he said.

   Phelan questioned if replacing the brick pavers would set a precedent for other historic, brick streets in town.

   “The city council can do whatever you choose to do,” Mayor Wayne Peach said of replacing the bricks or not.

   Public Works Director Nick Kahler said there are eight other blocks with exposed brick in town. There are also other streets, such as First Street, with brick sitting underneath the pavement.

   “But you have to maintain it,” Council member Dave Goedken said of Public Works. “We definitely don’t want brick on the streets that have considerable traffic weight on them. But we’ll see what the (bid) numbers come in at.”

   City Administrator Russ Farnum said any decision the council makes does not set a set a true precedent.

   “Each decision carries its own weight, its own merit on other streets in town,” he said.

   “I don’t want a hodgepodge on that street,” commented Phelan.

   “That’s why we bid it (brick pavers) as a bid alternate,” suggested Farnum.

   The council also awarded a contract for the south water tower repainting and maintenance project.

   Twelve bids were submitted for the project, with the lowest going to Tank Pro Inc. out of Northport, Ala., at $233,880 for the base bid. The base bid includes just one city logo on the tower. Bid Alternate A was for two logos, at a cost of $237,380, a difference of $3,500.

   The engineer’s estimate for the base bid was $360,000, plus an additional $5,000 for Alternate A.

   “Bids came in at 35 percent of the engineer’s estimate,” noted Farnum of the decent pricing. “We have plenty of extra money to cover an extra logo if the council chooses to do so.”

   “We only have one logo on it now,” commented Goedken. “I question if the second logo would be seen.”

   It was asked whether Tank Pro Inc. was the company that painted the north water tower. City Clerk Sally Hinrichsen said that was a different company. (Per an article in the Feb. 22, 2017 Monticello Express, the company that repainted the north water tower was Utility Service Co., Inc. out of Georgia.)

   In addition to awarding the bid to Tank Pro Inc., the council also voted to go with Alternate A, two logos on the water tower.