City tables bids on water wells

City council members voted to table a decision on water well bids during Tuesday’s regular meeting.
Bids were opened last week concerning the drilling and installation of three additional water wells to be constructed in the city’s existing wellfield. Bids from Leonard Water Services, Ltd. of Abilene and West Texas Water Well Service of Odessa were received.

According to Water/Wastewater Technician Michelle Guelker, Leonard submitted an original bid of $399,728 with West Texas coming in slightly higher at $423,898. Working with the company with the lowest bid, Guelker began negotiating with Leonard to lower their bid further, eventually reaching the bid total of $352,948.

Several council members had questions about the bid totals, including Keith Hiser, who says he’s been fielding questions about the cost of the wells from farmers who are accustomed to irrigation wells. “What we’re looking at with these bids is a summary,” Hiser said. He went on to add that he feels like the council owes it to the citizens of Colorado City to get the opportunity to look at all the details in the costs of the project.

City Manager Pete Kampfer warned the council against getting bogged down by the details and urged them to be informed and proceed in a timely manner. Kampfer stated that additional resources are a must in the summer, saying that the city is strapped for water during the hottest parts of the year. He also said that there have been times when the city is using as much as it is pumping, and increased water production would be dire in case of an emergency such as a fire or major water break.

Kampfer reported that the city has over $260,000 saved for the water well project thus far.

Marcelo Alvarez asked Guelker if she had an itemized bid. She did not, but she said she could get one. She also added that TCEQ regulation was one of the reasons for the extra costs. “They will come out three times (to do inspections) during the project,” Guelker said.

With all council members in agreement, the item was tabled until a more itemized bid can be acquired and a meeting can be called to discuss more opportunitities for savings on the project.

In other business, the council authorized the city manager to publish a public notice for hotel/motel tax requests and to seek bids for a city depository agreement for the city’s municipal funds. The current depository for the city is City National Bank.
The auditing service contract was renewed with Catherine Wilkes.