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DeKalb committee defers $75.8 million sewer ‘find-and-fix’ contract; directors to return with scope and procurement details
Summary
The Watershed Management department presented a multiyear consent-decree find-and-fix contract for CCTV assessment, sonar inspection and rehabilitation; the committee deferred the $75,826,623 award to SAC Construction Inc. and Vortex Services LLC for two weeks and asked for clarifying procurement and capacity information.
The DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management on March 6 sought committee approval of a multi-year contract to assess and rehabilitate large sanitary sewers under the county’s consent-decree obligations, but commissioners deferred the item for two weeks to allow audit and staff follow-up.
Agenda item 2025-0313 described a low-bid award for consent-decree find-and-fix assessment and rehabilitation work, recommending SAC Construction Inc. and Vortex Services LLC as the lowest responsive and responsible bidders and setting a not-to-exceed total of $75,826,623. Director Wells told the committee the contract is intended to provide CCTV assessments using robotic cameras and integrated sonar (TISCAT) to evaluate the internal condition of large-diameter sewer trunks and to perform immediate point repairs or rehabilitation where required to prevent spills or catastrophic failures.
Wells said the agenda text’s reference to 24-inch pipe should not be read to limit the work to a single diameter; he explained that for procurement and operational purposes large-diameter sewers are typically defined as 18 inches and above and that methods for assessment and many repairs are similar across diameter sizes. Wells said the contracting vehicle should allow on-site point repairs where needed and that larger replacements could be pursued afterward through an appropriate procurement if necessary.
Commissioners asked several procurement questions: why two of four bidders were chosen rather than keeping more firms on standby, how unit-price line items would be applied in practice, and whether the county has capacity contingencies if work volumes grow. Wells said he would follow up with procurement staff and bring more detail to audit, and commissioners requested clearer unit-price summaries and capacity analyses (for example, expected quantities by diameter) and a presentation so the committee and residents can better understand the plan.
Given the size and operational importance of the contract and several outstanding procurement clarifications, the committee voted to defer the item for two weeks so audit and staff can return with a more detailed packet and an explanatory presentation.
