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Tippecanoe commissioners to seek alternate procurement after Buck Creek Coburn wastewater bids fall short
Summary
County staff told commissioners the Buck Creek Coburn wastewater project remains about $3.4 million over budget; the county will solicit interest using a build-operate-transfer procurement variant and form a review committee to recommend contractors.
Tippecanoe County commissioners heard an update Aug. 18 on the Buck Creek Coburn wastewater project and approved moving the procurement to an alternative method to attract additional bidders.
County staff said the project remains roughly $3,400,000 short even after reviewing low bids from April and May and attempting multiple value‑engineering options. "Even with the low bidders the project is still about $3,400,000 short," Tracy, county staff, told the board.
The county will publish a notice this week for a build‑operate‑transfer (BOT) style procurement (without significant operation or transfer elements) to encourage more interest from contractors. The procurement will be published once and again after seven days, followed by a scoping period with selected firms, county staff said.
A review committee will screen submissions and make a recommendation to the commissioners. "It's my understanding the review committee is going to be [the] highway director and the surveyor," Tracy said. Staff also said the BOT variant includes limited operations and transfer language only as required by statutory procurement rules.
Commissioners did not take a final contract award at the meeting; they recorded the procurement approach and the planned composition of the review committee. Staff will return with timeline details and recommendations after the scoping period.
Background: bids for the Buck Creek Coburn wastewater work were received in April and May; the low bids still left a funding gap the county has been unable to eliminate through design changes and item edits. The BOT-style solicitation is intended to increase private-sector interest in completing the project within the county's funding constraints.
