Council approves revised engineer estimate and awards salt-storage site work to local contractor

The Augusta City Council approved two linked actions to advance construction of a salt storage building at the Public Works campus: (1) acceptance of a revised city engineer’s bid estimate and (2) award of a construction contract to PSE/PSC Contractors for site development.

Public Works staff explained that bids opened Sept. 30 produced one qualified bid from PSE Contractors that exceeded the original engineer’s estimate by roughly $19,847. Staff said the primary driver of the difference was concrete costs for exterior pads and foundation work: 'Almost all of it was in the concrete,' the project lead said (SEG 1297–1298). The city engineer revised the estimate upward (from about $159,168 to about $184,467) so the contract could be awarded in compliance with state law governing cities of the second class.

Council approved the revised estimate and then voted to award a $179,015 contract to PSC/PSE Contractors LLC to handle site preparation, drainage, grading and concrete pad construction. Staff said the total budget for the building, site work and engineering is $430,000 and that, after the award and estimated tariffs, projected expense is about $386,205 leaving a contingency of approximately $43,795. Funding was drawn via transfer from the electric utility and a later budget amendment will be required to square accounts.

Council discussed bidding outreach and the compressed timeline, with staff noting a broader advertising effort and the end-of-season construction schedule probably limited bidder interest. The motions to accept the revised estimate and to award the contract were approved by voice vote.