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Santa Rosa rejects bids for Laguna Treatment Plant aeration basin inspection; staff to redesign and rebid
Summary
City staff recommended and the board unanimously voted to reject two bids for inspection and condition assessment of aeration basins at the Laguna Treatment Plant after bids exceeded engineering estimates; staff will revise scope and reissue in 2025 for dry‑season work in 2026.
The Board of Public Utilities unanimously voted to reject all bids for the Laguna Treatment Plant aeration basins inspection project after staff reported both bids were well above the engineer's estimate.
Tatiana ("Tanya") Mokovitz, water reuse engineer at Laguna Treatment Plant, told the board the project will dewater and inspect aeration basins, settled sewage channels, mixed‑liquor channels and the low‑pressure air system, work that requires robust bypass pumping because only two of four aeration basins can be taken out of service during the dry season (typically mid‑April through mid‑October).
Staff said the engineer's estimate was $1.7 million. The bids received were about $3.9 million and roughly $7 million, 28% and 311% over the estimate, respectively. Interviewed bidders and prospective prime contractors cited high current market material costs, project labor agreement requirements, backlog of work and uncertainty over the quantity and composition of spoils as reasons for the high bids or for declining to bid.
Because of the large gaps, staff recommended rejecting the bids, working with the design engineer to reduce or revise the scope where feasible (for example, reducing hauling costs for spoils), and reissuing the project with an extended bid period in 2025 with the intention of performing inspections during the 2026 dry season.
Board member Bill Mullen moved to reject the bids; Board member DeWitt seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
