The Pecos City Council on Jan. 9 ratified an award to Smithco Construction of $5,618,000 for Phase 1 of upgrades to the city's wastewater treatment plant, Mayor pro tempore and council members approved after staff said the Texas Water Development Board is financing the project.

City Manager Charles Leno told the council the contract is part of a multi-phase effort that Parkhill, Smith & Cooper (engineer) bid out and that only a single qualifying bidder submitted a responsive proposal for the Phase 1 work. "This is for phase 1 to do the upgrades to the current plant that will improve the volumes," Leno said.

Why it matters: Council and staff said the work will increase plant capacity and is being financed through the Texas Water Development Board at a 0% interest rate, which the city manager said was approved in September. The council voted to ratify the award so construction can proceed under the established procurement and financing plan.

Details of the procurement and oversight: Leno said consultants Parkhill, Smith & Cooper and EHT performed the bid procurement and evaluation. He told council staff and city reviewers examined the sole bid and that the bidder, Smithco, has a track record the city found acceptable. When asked whether the bidder was recommended by the engineer or selected through the public bid process, Leno said the engineer conducted the bid process and only qualified bidders were considered.

Council action: Councilman Graham moved to approve the resolution ratifying the award; Councilman DeLongin seconded. The motion carried by voice vote. The meeting record shows the motion carries; the transcript does not record a roll-call tally.

Next steps and timeline: The resolution ratifies the bid award for Phase 1. City staff did not provide a construction start date in the public remarks on record during the council meeting. Additional phases and the full financing package were discussed in prior staff briefings referenced by Leno but were not detailed further during the Jan. 9 meeting.

Documents and authorities: The project was bid by the city's engineering consultants and is funded through the Texas Water Development Board financing authorization approved earlier. The transcript does not include contract documents or an explicit project timeline beyond ratification.