Bluff City approves reduced‑scope water treatment plant contract after rebid

The Bluff City Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to proceed with a reduced‑scope contract for upgrades at the town's water treatment plant, after staff recommended accepting a value‑engineered proposal to bring construction costs closer to the available grant funding.

Austin Smith, a project consultant with Matturn and Craig, told the board that the project was rebid on Aug. 28 and the only bid received came from Herrick Company for $1,350,000, substantially higher than the original construction budget of $569,700 tied to the town's grant application. Smith said the contractor submitted a November 2 proposal with tiered options; staff recommended accepting option 2, which removed painting, a generator ATS, and a booster pump station and incorporated electrical revisions from option 1. That reduced package was priced at $825,000 before other reallocations.

Smith said reassigning construction administration and inspection funds to the construction budget (removing a separate inspection line estimated at about $99,000) and reducing the contingency from 10% to 5% would increase the effective construction amount to roughly $697,200 and would leave a remaining town contribution of about $127,800.

The board debated timing and scope. Several members stressed the risk of losing the grant if the town delayed action; one member said the treatment plant had reached a “critical state” and urged moving forward. Alderman Johnson moved to proceed with the recommended reduced‑scope award; Vice Mayor Adams seconded. The motion passed on a recorded voice vote with members present voting yes.

The board asked staff to provide the November 2 scope‑breakdown letter and supporting line‑item documents to members; Smith said he would circulate the letter that evening and execute the award as soon as administratively possible if the board's vote was recorded.

The board's approval covers the reduced construction scope and directs staff to proceed with contract award and implementation steps; specific contract documents, final change orders, and an exact construction start date were not detailed during the motion. Smith said he expected to have the contract awarded as soon as possible and would issue the award by the end of the week.

Quotes in this article come from the meeting transcript: "we would recommend accepting this proposal from Heritage" (Austin Smith) and motions and votes recorded in the minutes. The transcript used varying spellings for the contractor ("Herrick," "Heritage," "Hair Company"); the bid document cited on the record identified the bidder as Herrick Company.