Council approves $2.30 million bid to relocate Lift Station No. 1, OKs budget amendments

The Freeport City Council voted May 5 to award a $2,298,646.03 contract to Texas Dewatering to relocate Lift Station No. 1 as part of the Port Freeport expansion, and approved budget amendments to cover the city's portion of project cost overages.

City staff said the relocation had an earlier agreement with Port Freeport that allowed $1,200,000 for the lift-station relocation and called for a fifty–fifty split for any construction overages, with the city responsible for water and wastewater line extensions. "The agreement allowed for a $1,200,000 for the relocation of the lift station for port expansion," City staff member Mr. Petty said during the meeting.

That agreement, staff told the council, meant the city must fund additional costs beyond the originally budgeted amount. Council was presented with a proposed budget amendment that would use $500,000 from Fund 14 (stormwater projects rollover) and $98,646.03 from Fund 25 (infrastructure/railway Fleming Streets) to cover the city's immediate share of the overage.

Councilman Matamoros moved to award the bid to Texas Dewatering; Councilman Rosso seconded. Council members asked staff and the city engineer about bidder vetting. Stephen Kelly of Kimberly Horn and Associates confirmed the bid review and vendor qualification steps had been completed. Councilman Matamoros also asked why the public packet did not include the full bid sheets. "I was curious as to why in the public packet the details of the bids by the different bidders was not included," Matamoros said; staff replied the omission was a "wrong click" and said the documents could be posted for public access.

Council called the vote; the motion carried 4–1, with Councilman Jeff Pena recorded as the lone nay. Council took formal action to approve the award and the associated budget amendments.

The contract award authorizes construction with Texas Dewatering; staff said further coordination with Port Freeport will continue to resolve funding discussions and any remaining project scope items. City engineer staff were present at the meeting to answer technical questions and to follow up on posting the fuller bid documentation for public review.