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Tulare awards $242,000 contract to Ares Engineering for pond rehabilitation
Summary
The board authorized the city manager to sign a contract with Ares Engineering (Toll House, CA) for up to $242,000, with change orders capped at 10%, to rehabilitate ponds 11 and 12 as part of the city's multi-year capital-improvement program.
The Tulare board voted to award a contract to Ares Engineering of Toll House, California, not to exceed $242,000 for the Pond Rehabilitation Project and authorized the city manager’s designee to approve contract change orders up to 10% of the total contract amount.
Tricia, the city’s public works director, told the board the project is part of the five-year capital improvement program and will be completed over multiple years because the treatment-plant ponds (numbered 5–12) hold large volumes of effluent and can be drained only a few at a time. This year the city identified ponds 11 and 12 for rehabilitation to address severe slope erosion and shrinking access roads that pose safety concerns for staff.
The project was advertised in September and bids opened on Oct. 2. Tricia said six companies submitted lump-sum bids; the apparent low bidder, Ares Engineering, originally showed a mathematical error on its bid submittal (the document showed $2,224,000), but staff recalculated and confirmed the correct amount as $242,000. Staff checked references, confirmed Ares holds a current Class A general engineering contractor license, and found past projects with few change orders. The contract includes a 60-day completion window to get work done before seasonal rains and to allow the city to refill ponds.
A commissioner asked whether the city had previously used Ares; Tricia said it had not but that staff performed due diligence and compared references to other contractors that have performed local work. After discussion the board moved, seconded and voted to approve the contract award.
Tricia also told the board to expect upcoming reports on a wastewater facilities plan and a downtown sewer-infrastructure study; staff said the preliminary downtown sewer report identified problem areas that will guide next steps.
