Greene County rejects bids for chlorine-to-liquid conversion, plans to rebid

Greene County commissioners voted to reject bids for a project to convert several well sites from gas chlorine to liquid and to re-advertise the work after staff reported the low bid exceeded available funding by more than $1 million.

Moore described the project as safety-driven and noted the county had obtained a loan-turned-grant arrangement from the state that made the work fully grant-funded in prior steps. Bids were opened and the low bidder was a general contractor that proposed using a subcontractor, but the low bid was substantially higher than budgeted. Moore said the county’s options included accepting a loan, using roughly $1 million from the county’s alternative water supply fund, reducing project scope, or rejecting and rebidding. He recommended rejecting the bids and seeking more competitive pricing.

Commissioners approved the motion to reject and rebid by voice vote. Moore said cutting scope could have left several wells (wells 3, 4 and 7) for later conversion, or the county could seek supplemental funding, but staff preferred to rebid to try to lower the price.

Moore also described why the county is moving away from gas chlorine: the liquid alternative reduces handling and training burdens for staff and lowers operational risks tied to gas storage and certification.