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Albany board recommends $34.9 million contract for Joshua Street wastewater solids-handling upgrade
Summary
The board recommended the city commission award a $34,888,171 contract to Ruby Collins (Smyrna) to replace aging solids-handling equipment at the Joshua Street Water Pollution Control Plant; staff said the single bid reflected market saturation and higher prices for electrical and mechanical equipment.
The Albany Utility Board voted to recommend that the City Commission enter a $34,888,171 contract with Ruby Collins of Smyrna, Georgia, to construct solids-handling upgrades at the Joshua Street Water Pollution Control Plant.
Project staff described multiple prior bid attempts and market conditions that produced only one responsive bid. “We bid this thing out in various forms,” project engineer Hughes told the board, adding that vendors are busy because many municipalities are upgrading similar facilities with added federal funding. Staff said the project previously had been divided into multiple packages and reissued; equipment and electrical costs have increased materially since earlier estimates.
Hughes outlined the scope: replace an aging dissolved-air flotation (DAF) thickening system with a new gravity-belt thickening building, add conveyors and polymer feed systems, rehabilitate or add belt presses for dewatering, construct a new building with electrical and chemical storage, and provide space and mechanical connections for future equipment. The plant’s digesters and final dewatering processes will remain part of the overall solids management system, and staff said the city currently disposes dewatered solids by land application under an existing contract.
Staff explained funding will come from a combination of sources: the city’s prior $25 million GEFA loan (with about $3.5 million remaining for this work), a new $12 million GEFA loan dedicated to the project, “plus 8” funds and sewer revenues; the new $12 million GEFA loan includes $3 million in principal forgiveness tied to the award, staff said. Construction and commissioning were estimated to take about two years.
Board members asked whether a rehabilitation alternative had been priced; staff said they had looked at rehab but did not have a firm comparative price and that spare parts availability and long-term maintenance made replacement the more reliable option. Due to age and part shortages on the existing DAF (chain, sprocket and mechanical issues), staff described operating risk if the older system failed while the city awaited parts.
The board voted to recommend the contract award to the commission. Staff said the updated project and funding plan will also be presented to the City Commission, which has final authority to enter the contract.
