Council to consider wastewater chemical bids; staff to report prices before Monday vote

Beacon City Council workshop — Beacon — Public Works staff told the council they are evaluating bids for three chemical purchases used in wastewater treatment and plan to include recommended awards in the council packet for the April 21 meeting if prices are favorable.

Chris, who presented the item, described the three products: sodium hypochlorite (disinfectant), liquid polymer (to promote clumping of suspended solids) and an odor‑control chemical identified in the transcript as "VX 4 56" that reacts with sulfides. "These are the 3 primary things that we use in the, wastewater treatment process," Chris said. He said the city has current supplies and is comparing bid prices against current market rates; if a bid is lower than current costs the city may lock in a fixed price, but staff expressed concern about volatile markets and supply‑chain uncertainty.

Chris told the council the annual budget for these chemical inputs is roughly $190,000. Staff said they expect to provide a memo and recommended award(s) in the council packet by Friday and that awards could be presented for council action at the next regular meeting; the council indicated it was comfortable moving ahead with that schedule, pending the packet materials.

No awards were finalized at the workshop and no formal vote was taken. Staff will return with a written recommendation that compares the bid prices to current spend and proposes either a multi‑year fixed contract if it produces savings or continued market purchases if bids are unfavorable.