Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By CHARITY SMITH
Bessemer — The city of Bessemer has received clearance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development for this year’s water and sewer project and is proceeding with the bidding process, Darren Pionk of C2AE, an engineering company, told the city council Monday.
After hearing of the clearance, Pionk said they called for bids from contractors.
Pionk said as of Monday, eight contractors have expressed interest in bidding on the project. Those companies have obtained copies of the plans for the project, he said. A pre-bid meeting with the contractors will be held on March 16 at 1 p.m.
“That way we can talk with the contractors as a whole in regards to the project; discuss the milestones; discuss any questions they might have all together at that point,” Pionk said.
The project will go up for bids on March 30 at 2 p.m. He said after bidding is complete C2AE will review the bids to see if there is any unbalanced bidding or any issues with the bids, and give its recommendations to the council.
The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund project to replace lead pipes in the city is also up for bids. Pionk said. There will be a required state pre-bid meeting on March 25 at 1 p.m. Bidding on the DWSRF project will open on April 8 at 10 a.m. He said five companies have expressed interest and have received copies of the plans as of Monday.
“Looks like there is a lot of interest on it,” Pionk said.
Charly Loper, Bessemer city manager said they are working to close in on the USDA bonds for the project. She said they are hoping to have the bonds finalized by late May, so that construction can start when road conditions permit.
Pionk said that it typically takes the USDA between 60 and 90 days, but closer to 90 close on a loan after bidding. He said they are trying to shorten that timeframe by getting information to the USDA ahead of time.
“We’re hoping that with our due diligence, we can reduce the schedule and (are) looking at the end of May as our closing date,” Pionk said.
He said they should begin digging within the first couple weeks of June.
The council also:
—Set an informational meeting with the Michigan Department of Transportation on May 3 at 5 p.m. to go over this year’s U.S. 2 rebuild and water and sewer projects with the council and the community. This meeting will take place just prior to a regularly scheduled council meeting and be broadcast on Facebook.
—Approved a contract with MDOT for $43,000 for their assistance with the U.S. 2 project. The contact approval was delayed, according to Loper, because the city was concerned that MDOT would start billing it before the USDA project was approved. MDOT has since agreed to delay billing until the close of the USDA project, Loper said.
—Approved a maintenance contract with MDOT for the care of U.S. 2.
—Approved going to Baker Tilley for a bond rating. The company will charge $2,000 for its service. However, Loper said when Baker Tilley goes to the bond company it will cost an additional $8,000, making the total $10,000. This must be done to acquire the funds for the DWSRF project, she said.
