Franklin council awards $501,977 contract to install West Saint Martins water main, delays assessment decision

The City of Franklin Common Council voted unanimously Tuesday to award a $501,977 contract to Globe Contractors Inc. to install a 16-inch transmission water main on West Saint Martins Road, including an alternate to install 13 water service laterals.

The action came after more than two hours of staff presentations and aldermanic discussion about timing, cost and how (or whether) the work will be paid for by adjacent homeowners. Michael Polos, the city engineer, told the council the base bid for the main was $417,977 and alternate number 2 — 13 laterals — added about $84,000 for a total award of $501,977. "It's a critical piece of infrastructure that needed to be done ahead of the upcoming DOT road improvements at Saint Martins Road," Polos said.

Why it matters: staff said the main is a missing transmission link needed to complete a loop in the water system and to avoid re-opening a new roadway after Department of Transportation road reconstruction. Council members repeatedly cited time pressure from the DOT schedule.

Council discussion focused on who benefits and who pays. Alderman Eichmann said many of the roughly 16 adjacent property owners she heard from do not want to hook up to city water and are concerned about being required to pay. "While it's great for the city for the infrastructure that the city needs, our job as Alders is to look out for the residents and constituents that don't want this," Eichmann said. Polos clarified the 13 laterals included in the alternate cover the right-of-way portion of the service to the property line; property owners would still need to pay to run water from the right-of-way to a building if they later choose to hook up.

City Attorney explained the assessment process to the council, saying preliminary notices sent to property owners appeared to be courtesy letters and that the formal special-assessment process — including an engineer's report, public hearing and formal noticing under state statute and municipal code — has not yet begun. The attorney described a range of council options when that process returns, including the possibility of assessing all or part of the cost, deferring payment, or not assessing property owners at all.

Key numbers and clarifications provided in the meeting: - Base bid (Globe Contractors): $417,977 (engineer's estimate exceeded actual bids). - Mandatory alternate 2 (13 laterals): about $84,000 (total award = $501,977). - Earlier resident estimate for a lateral was $12,000; actual bids reduced that to about $7,500 per lateral on average, which staff said justified installing them now while the contractor is mobilized. - Staff said benefits to property owners (e.g., fire protection and potential insurance impacts) and the final assessment amount will be part of later reports.

Formal action: Alderman Hassan moved and Alderman Day seconded a motion to accept the base bid and mandatory alternate number 2 and to reject mandatory alternate number 1; the council approved the motion on a roll call vote: Aldermen Pecarelli, Eichmann, Hassan, Day, Barber and Craig voted yes (6-0). The motion included direction that staff and the city engineer will return with materials for the council to consider the special-assessment process at a later date.

What the vote does and does not do: the award locks in the construction contract and the laterals' installation under full-time city inspection. It does not automatically place costs on homeowners; the council will separately consider whether to use special assessments, city funds or other approaches to pay for some or all of the work.

Next steps: Staff said it will prepare the engineer's report and materials required by state statute and the municipal code and return to the Common Council for the public hearing and a formal decision on assessments. Council members said that process typically takes up to two months once it begins.

Alderwoman Picarelli and others urged the council to act now to avoid higher costs after the DOT road reconstruction begins; others urged more outreach to residents before assessments are imposed. The council's approval was framed as time-sensitive to meet the DOT schedule rather than as a final financing decision.