.gif)
BY ABENEZER YONAS
The city of Eagle Lake unanimously motioned to reject a bid upwards of $6.8 million dollars for the 2023 Bond Street and Utility Improvements Contract at their most recent city council meeting, last Monday, July 15.
Mercer Construction Company, the firm that placed the bid to secure the project, was about $2.5 million dollars above the city’s intended budget of $4.3 million dollars, placing a bid for approximately $6,873,116.25 The city was hoping to close a bid as soon as possible given the feedback from the community over a need to act fast, but City Manager Charles “Tink” Jackson questioned whether the city should jump the gun on spending $2.5 million dollars more than they had originally planned.
“Which one is going to cause more outcry,” said Jackson. “The extra month or spending two and a half million dollars that we weren’t planning on spending?”
Councilmembers also voted to amend a plumbing and gas city ordinance regarding lead percentage in pipes and pipe fitting. The original ordinance allowed for city piping to contain no more than eight percent lead.
Tink proposes that this ordinance be updated and amended to drop the percentage down to zero and completely disallow the usage of lead in pipes and pipe fittings. Council member Jim Wood questioned how the city could distin- guish between pipes with and without lead, which Tink elaborated must be clarified when asked about to be sold.
“Why not ask them to tell you that,” said Tink. “People sometimes think they can grab that and use that, contractors and plumbers know better. We also tell them they can’t have anything left in their pipe.”
Discussions were also held about the city investing in a second mobile generator. The city currently only has one mobile generator available at the ready according to Tink.
The estimated cost of the mobile generator would be “somewhere around $50,000” for all parts and attachments. Mayor Timothy L. Kelley voiced how desperately the city needs a new generator following Hurricane Beryl’s recent impact, worrying how they would fare if multiple facilities throughout town were to lose power.
“That to me is something that the city desperately needs,” said Kelley. “Big enough to run wherever we need it. Because you get the situation like we just got in, the hospital is in a bind and what if we lose the community center? It would be pretty good to have one once we lose the community center.”
Despite councilmembers agreeing the need for a new mobile generator as soon as possible, the item was tabled due to a lack of funding. Tink noted how there could be grant funding available for the generator, but the city should wait and weigh their options for the time being before jumping the gun.
The city council also honored and recognized Victor Shimek in celebration of his retirement from the city after 10 years working in the public works sector. Eagle Lake city council meetings are held every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building.
