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Uxbridge reviews treatment-plant bids after costs exceed earlier estimates; $1.2M grant narrows funding gap
Summary
The Town of Uxbridge Water and Sewer Commission heard a bid update showing a $17.2M low bid for a PFAS and manganese treatment plant, learned MassDEP approved a $1.2M emerging-contaminants grant, and discussed asking the spring town meeting to authorize additional funds to cover a remaining shortfall and possible alternates.
The Town of Uxbridge Water and Sewer Commission on Thursday received post-bid numbers for the Blackstone Wells PFAS and manganese treatment project and weighed how much to ask voters to authorize at the upcoming town meeting.
Consultant Derek Blanchard of Tyrecar told the commission the project received strong interest: seven of eight prequalified general contractors submitted bids and the low bidder for the core treatment-plant work was Hart Engineering at about $17.2 million. Blanchard said the bid package included two add alternates — one for office/administrative space and another for an equipment storage/process-expansion bay — that were priced separately and would be accepted only if funded in order.
"We've gone through a bidding process now. We've got some more concrete numbers to talk about rather than planning numbers," Blanchard said, summarizing the shift from early estimates to actual bids.
Staff reported a post-bid revision that shows roughly a $1.65 million increase needed for the base treatment plant compared with the 2024 planning authorization. Earlier planning estimates carried larger contingencies than the post-bid numbers; consultants said SRF rules cap construction contingency at 5 percent of the base construction bid.
In a late-breaking development, staff said MassDEP's central-region office approved a $1,200,000 emerging-contaminants grant for the project. The grant will be applied toward the total cost and reduce what the town needs to seek at town meeting, but staff said the grant does not fully eliminate the shortfall.
Commissioners were told that a new federal procurement rule — Build America Buy America (BABA) — and the project’s detailed design contributed materially to the cost increases. Consultants estimated domestic sourcing and related changes likely added on the order of several hundred thousand dollars; staff gave a planning-range figure of roughly $800,000–$900,000 attributable to BABA-related requirements and design refinements.
"This is about the best deal that we're gonna see to make this happen from a dollar perspective," a department representative said, urging commissioners to consider taking advantage of the current SRF/IUP timing and grant opportunities.
Commissioners spent much of the discussion on how to present the capital article to voters. Staff proposed one of three approaches at town meeting: (1) ask only for the base bid plus the additional amount needed to cover the post-bid shortfall (a net increase of about $450,000 above previously authorized amounts after accounting for the grant), (2) present the base bid plus alternate 1, or (3) present the base bid and ask for both alternates in order. Counsel and commissioners discussed drafting the article so voters could consider the items sequentially — approving the base first, then alternates — to reduce the risk of the entire authorization failing.
Several commissioners and staff also acknowledged public concern, including a citizen petition alleging voters had been misled about prior estimates after the May 2024 appropriation of $19.5 million. Staff and consultants responded that earlier figures were planning-level estimates and that the more detailed design and permitting work completed later narrowed unknowns but revealed legitimate additional costs.
Officials emphasized regulatory and operational risk if the project is not built: state regulators have required a long-term plan to address the town’s water-quality issues, and staff warned that failing to proceed could lead to a consent order and loss of the existing well source — an outcome that would be costly and time-consuming to remedy.
No formal vote on a recommendation to town meeting was taken at the commission's session; staff said they would consult town counsel and return with proposed motion language. The commission adjourned after agreeing to continue discussion at a future meeting.
The commission and consultants identified next steps as drafting clear town-meeting language that lays out the base cost and ordered alternates, explaining SRF financing, grant offsets and the practical consequences if the project is delayed.
