Morton told City Council that Fishbeck Engineering, the city’s consulting engineer, checked the lowest bid for accuracy and gave the city the necessary information to feel comfortable supporting this contractor.
But due to an oversight, which Morton accepted the blame, a line item for a 10% contingency was not added to the bid, he said during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
He said the 10% contingency is typically done on all of bids so the city has “some cushion” for unforeseen items that arise during construction. It also allows the city to move quickly on the project if issues arise, as is typical with any underground work.
With the additional 10%, that increased the project cost to $1,116,302, he said.
The six Monroe City Council unanimously approved the contract. Council member Tom Callahan was excused from the meeting.
This project is being funded by the city with funds budgeted in the Water Capital Improvement. It was estimated to cost $1,787,700, according to the 2022 capital budget.
Morton said the project consists of a new 12-inch water main from Main Street on Lebanon Street to East Avenue and east to Ohio 63. The line will be bored under Ohio 63 and tie-in to an existing 10-inch water main in Cincinnati-Dayton Road just north for 63.
He said the larger line will give the city “a bigger feed’ to the North Main Street Water Tower.
In other news:
Olympic Lawns submitted the only bid for mowing and landscaping the Interstate 75/Ohio 63 interchange.
The bid was $63,915. This is a one-year contract that is renewable up to four years if both parties agree.
There is a one-time 5% increase allowed for years three and four, according to the staff report.
The budget for this was set and approved at $70,000.
The JEDD that Monroe has with Turtlecreek Twp. designates up to $80,000 in revenue from the JEDD annually to go toward the maintenance of the interchange.
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