Sampson County tentatively awards Ivanhoe water contract, contingent on state approval and easements

Sampson County officials voted to tentatively award the construction contract for the Ivanhoe Water System to the apparent low, responsive bidder, pending approval from DWI and the county obtaining one final permanent utility easement.

County staff told the Board that two bids were received for the Ivanhoe Water System; state “general statutes” required three bids to open the original solicitation, so the county re-advertised and opened the two bids on Oct. 17. Staff said the base bid alone would exceed the project budget but that combining the base bid with Alternate 1 — swapping C900 PVC pipe for SDR-21 PVC — would place the project within the available construction funding.

The county reported available construction funding of $10,766,000 and said the combined base bid plus Alternate 1 totaled $10,553,087, leaving a variance of $213,579. Staff recommended placing that variance into the project contingency, increasing the contingency above the 5% carried as required by DWI to roughly 7%, with the option to use any remaining contingency funds for additional roads at the end of the project. Staff also listed other project costs that remain outside the construction contract, including survey, engineering, permitting, construction administration, funding administration, land acquisition for a booster pump station ($20,000) and service connection fees (budgeted at $525,000).

Staff recommended that the Board tentatively award the contract under Schedule A (base bid plus Alternate 1) for the Ivanhoe Water System, subject to DWI approval and securing the final permanent utility easement. The county’s engineering consultant (transcribed in the meeting as “Duver engineers”) prepared the recommendation and bid tabulation. Staff said all required permits listed in the packet had been received and that a public outreach campaign had begun, with flyers posted and an initial community meeting scheduled for Nov. 7.

A Board member moved to adopt a resolution tentatively awarding the bid as recommended; another Board member seconded. The Board voted by voice (“All in favor, raise your right hand”) and the motion carried. The meeting record did not provide an individual vote tally.

Discussion at the meeting focused on procurement options and project budgeting. Staff explained that the alternates were included to provide contractors flexibility on pipe material and directional drilling methods to achieve lower prices through supply-chain differences. Staff said the project is being recommended on Schedule A (base + Alternate 1) because that option stays within the stated construction funding amount. The county will submit the award and associated documents to DWI for approval and will not finalize the contract until the remaining utility easement is executed.

Next steps noted in the meeting: submitting the tentative award to DWI for approval, securing the final permanent easement for the booster pump station, and beginning construction-related community outreach beginning Nov. 7.

The Board did not state a formal dollar amount for the final contract signature in the public record beyond the combined Schedule A total cited in the meeting and did not provide a roll-call vote tally in the transcript provided.