Council awards $320,000 contract for compost facility ventilation upgrade

The Coeur d'Alene City Council on Jan. 21 approved a contract award for a compost facility maintenance project that replaces aging aeration piping with an in-floor trench ventilation system and includes an optional asphalt recycling add-on.

Mike Anderson of the Wastewater Department explained that foundations of older compost operations relied on flexible piping to aerate piles, and that the city has had difficulty sourcing and maintaining that piping. The proposed work removes existing asphalt in the older building, installs trench drains and in-floor ventilation plates that allow staff to manage airflow without buried pipes and reduce material-handling time.

Sell and Construction Inc. submitted the low base bid of $314,000; with bid alternate No. 1 (to chip the removed asphalt for reuse on site) the total award is $320,000. Anderson said the project had previously been bid in an earlier cycle at higher prices; the current rebid returned roughly a 10% lower result than the prior attempt. The project is a preplanned capital improvement funded from the wastewater enterprise fund, and council members confirmed the funding source during discussion.

Councilmember moved and seconded the resolution to accept the low bid; the motion passed on a roll-call vote recorded in the transcript with Evans, Miller, Gabriel, English and Wood voting yes. The council noted the project will increase operational efficiency at the compost facility and help manage the site where the city stages its annual compost giveaway.

Anderson answered council questions about staffing turnover and operational knowledge, noting recent personnel changes but experience within the department dating back to the 1980s.

The contract award directs the Wastewater Department to proceed with the approved base bid and additive and implement the ventilation upgrade under the terms of the accepted bid.