Salina awards nearly $3 million water-main replacement contract; project covers multiple pipe sizes

The Salina City Commission on Oct. 27 approved awarding the 2025 water-main replacement project (Project No. 240282025) to Meese Construction of Wichita. The base bid was $2,837,180; with a 5% construction contingency the total project authorization was set not to exceed $2,979,039.

Martha Tasker, director of utilities, reviewed the city’s long-running program to replace cast-iron mains and said the 2025 project covers roughly 3.35 miles of 12-inch mains, 0.4 miles of 8-inch mains and 1.2 miles of 6-inch mains. Staff received two bids on Sept. 25: Meese Construction ($2,837,180) and Smoky Hill LLC ($3,787,675); the engineer’s estimate was about $4.1 million. Because Meese’s bid was materially lower, staff contacted the firm to confirm the bid’s accuracy and compliance with contract requirements. Tasker said Meese had previously completed a water-main project for the city and other regional projects successfully, with acceptable change-order history and on-time completion, and staff recommended awarding to Meese.

Commissioners asked how replacement priorities are set; Tasker said staff use calls and service complaints to create heat maps combining water-quality complaints and break history, and that replacements are prioritized by problem clusters. She said the typical lead time from identifying a need to construction is about one to two years because work must be designed and bid, though the city can reprioritize in urgent cases. The commission moved, seconded and approved the award; the motion passed 5-0.