Evansville board approves $1.77 million water-main award, $1.85 million program-management amendment and expands bill-relief enrollments

The Evansville City board on July 9 approved a series of water‑system contracts and funding moves, moved forward a multi‑year effort to renegotiate an EPA consent decree, and received an update on a growing customer bill‑relief program.

The board voted to award a $1,765,100 contract to Infrastructure Systems Inc. for the South Evergreen Acres neighborhood water‑main replacement (project U‑1196). Jennifer Kane, the staff presenter, told the board that four bids were received, the designer (3 I Design) and city purchasing and compliance staff reviewed the submissions and recommended Infrastructure Systems; she said the MBE/WBE participation met program goals and the winning bid came in below the engineer’s estimate. “All of the required bid items were submitted by Infrastructure systems and found to be in compliance with the bid specifications,” Kane said; the motion passed with all members voting aye.

The board also authorized advertising for the US‑41 water relocation (DES 2000987, U‑1236), a project Jennifer Kane described as lowering a 16‑inch ductile‑iron main in three locations along the east side of Highway 41 (between Mount Pleasant and Hillsdale Roads) to clear conflicts with proposed culvert installations; the engineer’s estimate is $317,000 and the advertised bid opening is scheduled for Aug. 20.

In a separate vote, the board approved Change Order No. 6 to Alltrade Solutions LLC for the HSP‑8, 9 and 10 pump rebuilds at the water treatment plant. City staff engineer (Speaker 5) explained that complications with an eddy‑current clutch on pump No. 9 prevented the originally planned sequence of rebuilds; the proposed remedy is to swap the hardware so the pump with a variable‑frequency drive occupies the VFD‑equipped position, retain the older but operable pump as a spare, and take a credit rather than rebuild an older drive. “There’s nothing wrong with the pump itself, it’s specific to the drive,” the presenter said. The change order was described in the meeting as a net decrease to the contract; the transcript contains two close but inconsistent figures for the reduction ($123,025.33 and $125,025.33); the board approved the change order.

The board approved Amendment No. 2A with Clark Beach Inc. — a $7,365 increase to the design contract for the Lloyd R42287 (U‑1218) water‑main relocation. Staff said three separate design amendments were consolidated into one construction package to reduce contractor coordination and construction‑management workload on a roughly $2.89 million project, representing about a 0.25 percent increase to the overall design fee.

On a larger scale, the board approved Amendment No. 2 to the IOCP program‑management agreement (professional services) with Lochmuller Group Inc. in an amount not to exceed $1,850,000. Speaker 6 said the funds will support a multi‑year reevaluation and preparation for negotiations with EPA under the existing consent decree, and that roughly $500,000 of the requested amount is to set up negotiations. New tasks added to the scope include establishing a Citizen Advisory Council to gather public input and a $150,000 geotechnical task to evaluate a potential large tunnel solution. “We’re getting set to have our negotiations and discussions to open up the consent decree with EPA,” Speaker 6 said; the board approved the amendment.

The board also approved a consulting agreement not to exceed $180,000 with Keller Schroeder for IT staff augmentation. The company will support data strategy, cloud and network architecture, security, CityWorks upgrades and automation of SAR reporting, while also helping train city staff.

During miscellaneous business, staff briefed the board on a bill‑relief program instituted in July. Speaker 7 said about 2,000 customers were enrolled at rollout and an additional 500 customers have been added since, bringing the total to roughly 2,500 customers receiving a $30 monthly credit. Staff also reported about 70 leak‑repair applications in the queue; roughly 10 applicants were referred back for bill‑relief assistance. Officials said the city has set aside approximately $3,000,000 (from the 2022 bond) for these relief programs and that the funds must be spent by 2026. Board members asked whether the program’s objective is repair versus credit; staff said customers may choose either the repair program or the credit but cannot take both.

Votes at a glance: • Consent agenda — approved (unanimous voice vote) • Award to Infrastructure Systems Inc., South Evergreen Acres water‑main replacement (U‑1196) — approved (unanimous voice vote) • Authorization to advertise US‑41 DES 2000987 (U‑1236) — approved (unanimous voice vote) • Change Order No. 6 to Alltrade Solutions LLC (HSP‑8,9,10) — approved (unanimous voice vote). Transcript shows two similar but inconsistent decrease amounts ($123,025.33 and $125,025.33). • Amendment No. 2A with Clark Beach Inc. (Lloyd R42287, U‑1218) — approved (unanimous voice vote) • Amendment No. 2 with Lochmuller Group Inc., IOCP program management (2022) — approved (unanimous voice vote) • Consultant agreement with Keller Schroeder (IT) — approved (unanimous voice vote)

What’s next: the board set its next meeting for Aug. 6, 2024, at 3 p.m.; staff said it will continue preparing the IOCP reevaluation materials ahead of EPA negotiations and will monitor enrollment and eligibility in the bill‑relief programs.