Council voted unanimously to award the contract for a 17,000-linear-foot, 12-inch PVC water transmission main to Park Construction of North Carolina and approved a related capital project ordinance, actions staff said are contingent on approval by the Division of Water Infrastructure.

The bid award and ordinance matter because the new main will connect Oak Ridge to the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County utility system and to the elevated tank currently under construction, enabling the town to begin operating a municipal water system.

Town staff told the council the low responsive bid was $4,416,206. Staff also presented an estimated project total of about $4,900,000 that includes the construction contract, construction administration and observation by Wooten Company, and a 5 percent contingency. The package before council included staff’s recommendation to accept Park Construction’s bid. The staff presentation noted grant funding available in excess of the projected cost; staff said the award is contingent on the Division of Water Infrastructure, the primary funding agency, approving the award.

Council member Hart moved to approve Resolution R2025-06 to award the bid; the motion carried with all members voting in favor. Council then moved and approved a capital project ordinance to fund construction of the water main.

Council discussion highlighted anticipated benefits and next steps. One council member said the project had been planned in phases for decades and called the award “a great first step” that could accelerate future connections for residents and commercial customers along the route; another council member noted that fire hydrants will be installed along the line as it rises toward Oak Ridge Road and Lynville Road, improving water access for fire suppression and emergency response. A resident representing Oak Ridge Fire and Rescue said the hydrants will improve tactical and strategic firefighting capabilities and reduce the need to move tankers to draft water from ponds.

Staff and council emphasized that water enterprise revenues and expenses will be housed in a separate water enterprise fund, not the town’s general fund, once construction is complete. Staff also said the award and subsequent construction schedule will allow the Water Advisory Committee to begin marketing and outreach to nearby property owners about connecting to the new system.

Implementation details presented to council included the contract amount, the estimated project total including contingency and administration, the requirement for Division of Water Infrastructure approval, and the plan for construction observation by the Wooten Company.

Speakers quoted in this article are those who presented or spoke on the record during the agenda item and public comment: "I make a motion to approve … resolution R2025-06 to bring a waterline 17,000 linear feet from Forsyth County to our town," the council member who moved the resolution said during the meeting. A resident and firefighter said, "This is one of the greatest things that y'all could have done for the community … a hydrant scattered out around the district gives us an immense strategic advantage." The article does not attribute remarks beyond the meeting transcript.

The award now moves to the Division of Water Infrastructure for final acceptance; staff said available grant funding covers the projected costs and that construction administration and a 5 percent contingency are included in the project total.