Ingleside Council awards $41.2 million bid for new 2‑MGD wastewater plant

The Ingleside City Council voted to award the construction bid for a new 2 million‑gallons‑per‑day (MGD) wastewater treatment plant to Associated Construction Partners for $41,205,016 and authorized the city manager to negotiate and execute contracts, subject to legal review.

The plant bid and funding were presented by staff member Sam, who told the council the project follows earlier council authorization to pursue financing and that the Texas Water Development Board and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had reviewed the designs. “This is a hard dollar bid. It will not exceed this amount,” Sam said during the discussion.

Council members pressed staff on project oversight, scheduling and long‑term capacity. Councilman Coates made the motion to award the bid; Mayor Pro Tem Long seconded. The motion passed in a roll call vote with the full council voting aye.

In discussion before the vote staff described the project as a replacement and expansion: the city’s existing plant capacity of about 1.2 MGD will be supplanted by the new 2 MGD facility. A council member later summarized the capacity change as “almost doubling.” Engineers and state reviewers, including the Texas Water Development Board, reviewed design documents as part of funding approvals; staff said TWDB engineers have already approved the design as a funding condition.

Council and staff discussed how the project will be paid: the city previously authorized issuing $18 million in certificates (as part of a prior financing authorization discussed at earlier meetings) and has reserved local funds to reduce rate impacts. Staff said the council has multiple funding mechanisms in place and that utility revenues will ultimately be used to support the debt service after initial issuance. The agenda packet shows the project includes a contingency and that the bid amount exceeded earlier estimates, which staff attributed to increases since the project was first scoped.

Council members asked about contract terms and protections. City Attorney Lloyd Lawrence said the contract accompanying the bid has been reviewed previously but requires current legal review; the council’s vote authorized the manager to finalize contracts after that legal review. Council members emphasized they want the city protected in final contract language on issues such as indemnity, insurance and responsibilities for change orders.

Staff estimated the construction schedule at roughly 720 days from notice to proceed; the city said the contract includes contingencies and that a third‑party representative will be engaged to serve as owner’s representative during construction. One council member noted the project’s scale will accommodate substantial future growth, and another gave a rough estimate that the 2 MGD capacity corresponds to wastewater flow for about 10,000 average single‑family homes while the city currently has about 3,800 households.

The council’s action awards the construction contract subject to negotiation and legal review; the manager was authorized to execute the final documents once review is complete.

Costs, schedule and financing remain implementation items staff must complete during contract negotiation; the construction contract and final financing timeline were not included on the council’s agenda for separate final approval.

The council’s vote was 7‑0 to award the bid and to authorize the manager to negotiate and execute contracts following legal review.