Toledo receives favorable bids for WWTP

Bids for the construction of Toledo’s new wastewater treatment plant  have come in at around $300,000 less than estimated, and an official bid is expected to be approved next week.

Rotschy Inc., based in Vancouver, submitted a bid of $7.46 million on Thursday, coming in lowest of 11 bidders that day, of which the second lowest had been Pease and Sons at $8 million.

Engineers with Gray & Osborne, who had estimated construction costs would total around $7.7 million, are now charged with vetting the estimates to ensure both bids and bidders are capable of fulfilling the city’s needs.

Once the lowest responsible bidder is selected, which Mike Johnson, of Gray & Osborne, said will more than likely be Rotschy Inc. or Pease and Sons, a recommendation will be made to the Toledo City Council March 3 for official approval, after which time the selected contractor is expected to begin acquiring bonds and insurance for the project prior to breaking ground later this year.

On top of construction costs, Johnson said the city will be expecting to pay around $850,000 for construction management through his firm, and as well as around $200,000 in software installation and programming for the computers expected to operate the plant. Along with the costs of permits and inspections, remaining expenses for the plant are expected total around $8.5 million, in addition to roughly $800,000 spent last year on engineering plans, bringing the total estimated cost for the new sewer plant to around $9.3 million.

$6.4 million in state and county grants have already been secured for construction, and the remainder is expected to be paid through a Public Works Trust Fund Loan approved for up to $9.1 million.