Hampstead council awards inspection contract as $24 million water upgrade advances
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Summary
Council approved a $1,429,497 contract for construction inspection of new water treatment plants and heard updates that pipeline work and grant funding have put most construction costs covered.
The Hampstead Town Council on Oct. 14 approved a contract with RK & K Engineering to provide construction inspection services for the town’s multi-part water system centralization and modernization project and heard progress updates on pipelines, bids and funding for the program.
Town Manager Jim told the council the first new pipeline on Main Street is complete except for a permanent asphalt patch and the second main — from Murphy's Run Court toward Upper Ford Lane and back to the existing North Carroll Farms water treatment plant — is expected to be completed in early November. Bids for construction of four water treatment plants were opened Sept. 12; two bidders responded. An engineer’s estimate earlier in September exceeded $23 million, while Conewago Enterprises was the low bidder on the two contracts at a combined roughly $13.7 million, town staff said.
Jim said the financing picture has changed since staff’s July update. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) notification showed the town will receive a $5,000,000 grant from IIJA (the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) for PFAS emerging contaminants and a $3,157,000 drinking water state revolving loan — different from earlier, preliminary figures that had indicated about $8.157 million in additional funding. When combined with other grant sources and a state forgivable loan mentioned by staff, Jim said the town now has about $24 million in grant/forgivable funding related to the project. He said current construction and inspection contract totals are just over $19 million, which staff expect will be largely covered by those grants.
On the RK & K Engineering contract, staff described the procurement as a qualifications-based selection for inspection services. Three firms submitted proposals; one was deemed nonresponsive and a small woman‑owned startup (All4Him Environmental) was judged to lack the manpower to handle a project of this scale. RK & K submitted a price of $1,429,497, below the engineer’s expected inspection cost. Town staff said the inspection contract is reimbursable through the MDE funding.
Council action: a council member moved to award the contract to RK & K at the stated price; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote with no opposition noted on the record. The council also approved the meeting minutes earlier in the session by voice vote.
Why it matters: the project replaces aging mains, adds treatment capacity and addresses PFAS contaminants; the large share of grant funding significantly reduces the local construction burden, staff said. Town staff expect to bring the construction contracts to the council for approval in November after completing due diligence on the low bidders.
Details and next steps: staff asked the council later in the meeting to approve a separate inspection-services contract once due diligence is complete. Town Manager Jim said additional project costs could arise as construction proceeds and engineers finalize scopes. Staff repeatedly noted the inspection contract and construction costs are eligible for reimbursement under the MDE grant/loan package.
