Elkhart Board of Works adopts preliminary engineering report, awards multiple contracts and levies utility penalties

The City of Elkhart Board of Works on March 18 adopted a preliminary engineering report, advanced several construction bids for city facilities and levied fines on three industrial wastewater permit holders.

The actions finalize spending and procurement steps for projects including street resurfacing and curb ramps, the Lerner Theatre roof replacement, police and fleet vehicle purchases, and wastewater work; the board also approved a design‑build procurement and technical review committee for a new street department salt facility.

Board members opened bids for Lerner Theatre north roof replacement and sent the results to staff for award at the May 6 meeting. Boentrager Enterprises Inc. submitted a base bid of $298,241 (alternate 1: $278,823); Hoekstra Roofing Company submitted a base bid of $802,535 (alternate 1: $790,755); and Sleigh Tile Roofing & Sheet Metal Co. submitted a base bid of $649,812 (alternate 1: $640,812). The board voted to assign the bid packages to staff for award at the May 6, 2025 meeting.

On capital and routine finance items, the board approved the claims and allowance docket totaling $7,683,415.51. Deputy Controller Erin (last name redacted) told the board the docket will in future include account line summaries grouped by fund and account line. She noted subsidy funding on this docket totaled $2,712,500, a $500,000 transfer to capital outlay under Ordinance 5640, and American Rescue Plan claims of $13,124.22.

In engineering business, the board adopted Resolution 25‑R‑06 accepting a preliminary engineering report (PER). Assistant City Engineer Jeff Schafer explained the next step: "We submit the PER to IFA. They review the PER, rank the PER with all the other PERs ... determine which of the rankings receive funding, and then, we move forward from there." (IFA = Indiana Finance Authority, as discussed by staff during the meeting.)

The board authorized the vice president to execute an on‑call professional services agreement with DLZ Indiana for small engineering/professional services (typically in the ~$20,000 range). Schafer said these are "for small professional services contracts, usually in the range of say $20,000" and clarified the scope of work and fees are handled at the staff level.

On procurement: the board awarded Bid 25‑06 (2025 ADA curb ramp replacement) to TX Concrete LLC for $242,200 after the apparent low bidder withdrew for a mathematical error. The board awarded Bid 25‑07 (2025 street department resurfacing/curb ramp project) to Almac (bidder name as read into the record) for $307,737.11; members noted a minor math error on that bid that did not affect responsiveness. The board also awarded vehicle contracts: Bid 25‑09 (2025 police unit bid) to Jordan Ford with a unit breakdown and totals presented by the fleet manager, and Bid 25‑10 (2025 Elkhart City light duty truck bid) also to Jordan Ford.

The board appointed Tory Irwin, Jeff Schafer and Zachary Flagel as the three‑member Technical Review Committee required by state statute for the street department design‑build salt facility project, then approved the Request for Qualifications and Proposals and the design criteria package. Schafer explained the design‑build two‑step procurement: design/build teams submit qualifications plus a sealed price; the committee ranks on qualifications, then opens the sealed price of the top firm to check budget alignment. On the committee composition, Schafer said the statute requires two of the three members be among a registered professional engineer, a contractor as defined by state public works bidding, or a registered architect; he and Flagel meet the professional qualifications and Irwin will represent the city.

Utility matters included ratification of partial payment request No. 1 for $611,980 to Sel (?) Construction from SRF loan WW24182006 for the Oakland CSO tank project and ratification of final payment SRF No. 80 in the amount of $255,799 to Bowen Engineering Corporation for the Elkhart Wastewater Treatment Plant capacity upgrades Phase 2 project. Public works staff reported excavation and concurrent work had begun on the Oakland tank.

The board accepted the water utility monthly report for February 2025; staff reported no incidents.

Enforcement actions under the Sewer Use Ordinance and related permits resulted in three fines: Yellow Dog (permit 2012‑01) was found in violation for failure to conduct required self‑monitoring and was assessed $100 after missing required analytical hold times; Elkhart Environmental Processing (permit 2002‑02) was found in violation for failing to respond to a notice of violation by the due date and assessed $250; and Lippert Components (permit 98‑03, Plant 72) was assessed $500 after submitting a required self‑monitoring report 65 days late that triggered significant noncompliance. Pretreatment staff and legal reviewed the recommended penalties; staff said the enforcement response plan will be updated to address similar cases in the future.

The board adopted Resolution 25‑R‑04 to declare a heavy rescue apparatus surplus and authorized advertisement of Bid 25‑12 for its sale; the chief said replacement apparatus was planned and that service continuity would be preserved while procurement proceeds. The board also approved Resolution 25‑R‑05 and an agreement transferring selected 30‑year park playground equipment to Elkhart City Church Inc. for $1; Jamison Czarnecki, Elkhart City Parks and Recreation superintendent, said the goal is reuse and keeping equipment out of the landfill, and noted the city will require the recipient to remove equipment and assume liability. Board members asked that recipients be urged to obtain third‑party inspection after reassembly; staff said the transfer agreement includes indemnity language and the recipient bears responsibility for future maintenance and safety.

Other routine items approved: ratification of multiple assessments and permits (four water assessments, five sewer assessments, two revocable permits), disposal of other surplus property, acceptance of a conflict disclosure statement from James Rickoff, and approval of a slate of community use and event permits including Earth Day (April 26), Hoosier Harley bike nights, Curbside Fridays, Junk in the Trunk, EnviroFest and fall events. Public participation drew no speakers; the meeting adjourned after about one hour.

Votes at a glance (motions and formal outcomes taken at the March 18 meeting): - Assign bids for Lerner Theatre roof replacement (Bid 25‑11) to staff for award at the May 6, 2025 meeting — motion approved. - Approve claims and allowance docket $7,683,415.51 — motion approved. - Adopt Resolution 25‑R‑06 (adopt PER) — motion approved. - Authorize vice president to execute on‑call professional services agreement with DLZ Indiana — motion approved. - Award Bid 25‑06 (ADA curb ramp replacement) to TX Concrete LLC, $242,200 — motion approved. - Award Bid 25‑07 (2025 resurfacing/curb ramp project) to Almac (as read) $307,737.11 — motion approved. - Appoint Tory Irwin, Jeff Schafer, Zachary Flagel to Technical Review Committee for design‑build salt facility — motion approved. - Approve RFQ/RFP and design criteria package for design‑build salt facility — motion approved. - Approve revocable right‑of‑way permit for perpendicular parking on Ellison Street for La Los de Cristo El Mundo Inc. — motion approved. - Ratify partial payment No. 1 $611,980 to Sel Construction (SRF WW24182006) for Oakland CSO tank — motion approved. - Ratify final payment SRF No. 80 $255,799 to Bowen Engineering Corporation (WW18...) for WWTP capacity upgrades Phase 2 — motion approved. - Accept/place on file water utility monthly report (Feb 2025) — motion approved. - Find Yellow Dog permit 2012‑01 in violation and assess $100 — motion approved. - Find Elkhart Environmental Processing permit 2002‑02 in violation and assess $250 — motion approved. - Find Lippert Components permit 98‑03 in violation (significant noncompliance) and assess $500 — motion approved. - Ratify listed assessments and revocable permits (counts read into record) — motion approved. - Adopt Resolution 25‑R‑04 to dispose of surplus heavy rescue apparatus and advertise sale (Bid 25‑12) — motion approved. - Award Bid 25‑09 (2025 police units) to Jordan Ford — motion approved. - Award Bid 25‑10 (2025 light duty truck bid) to Jordan Ford — motion approved. - Adopt Resolution 25‑R‑05 and approve agreement transferring surplus playground equipment to Elkhart City Church Inc. — motion approved. - Accept conflict disclosure from James Rickoff — motion approved. - Approve listed use and event permits (see meeting record) — motion approved.

Why it matters: The PER adoption keeps an infrastructure project moving toward potential state funding; the design‑build procurement for the salt facility moves a time‑sensitive public works project into selection and budgeting phases; the awards and procurements set construction and vehicle contracts that will be executed this construction season; and the wastewater payments and enforcement actions close out and police compliance for utilities work and industrial dischargers.

Looking ahead: staff will submit the PER to IFA for ranking, staff will return the Lerner Theatre award recommendation on May 6, the technical review committee will evaluate design‑build proposals in public meetings, and pretreatment staff plans to update the enforcement response plan to codify penalties for cases such as the Lippert late report.