North Aurora waives bidding, awards $7.57 million contract for new 1.25M-gallon water tower

On Jan. 20, 2025, the North Aurora Village Board voted to waive the formal bidding process and award a $7,566,954 construction contract to CBNise Services for a new 1,250,000-gallon water tower, village staff said during the meeting.

Brian, a village staff member, told the board the item implemented direction given at the Sept. 16, 2024 board meeting to negotiate with an engineer-of-record and a preferred contractor. "The community of the whole gave staff direction to meet with our EEI or engineers and begin negotiations with CBNI on a contract in the construction of a new 1,250,000 gallon of water tower," Brian said. He said staff and EEI identified cost-saving engineering options — including removing paint containment, revising foundation work, and a deduction with the construction bond — that reduced costs by about $305,600.

At the Dec. 16 board meeting, the board approved notifying a letter of intent to keep CBNise moving forward, Brian said. Based on the negotiations and value-engineering adjustments, staff recommended waiving the bidding process and awarding the contract to CBNise Services for $7,566,954; the board approved the recommendation by roll call.

Trustee Gaitley, Trustee Lowery, Trustee Nedvedge, Trustee Salazar, Trustee Christiansen and the mayor recorded "yes" votes on the motion. The transcript records a motion and a second but does not name who moved or seconded.

The presentation named EEI as the engineering firm that worked with staff and the contractor. No funding sources (for example, specific budget lines, bond issuances, or grant awards) were identified during the meeting and the transcript does not state a construction start date or project timeline.

The board did not assign additional direction or reporting requirements at the meeting beyond approving the waiver and contract award.