Lucas awards McGarity tank repaint and rehab contract, appropriates $269,401 from water reserves

The Lucas City Council on Sept. 18 authorized a repaint and rehabilitation project for the McGarity ground storage tank, appropriating $269,401 from unrestricted water fund reserves for FY2025 nd awarding the construction agreement to D & M Tank LLC for an amount not to exceed $244,910 with a 10 percent contingency of $24,491.

Patrick Hubbard presented the procurement results, saying staff received multiple bids but elected not to select the low bidder because of concerns raised during reference checks and past performance. "We are not selecting the low bidder in this instance," Hubbard said, and recommended the second-low bidder, D & M Tank, adding staff recommended proceeding with additive alternates to address small site improvements and a broken roll-up door.

Council members asked whether the listed alternates were required; staff replied that most items arise from updated code and standards tied to rehabilitation work and noted it is more efficient and less disruptive to perform all work during the same outage. Council also discussed replacing an uninsulated door to reduce winter propane use.

The motion to: 1) appropriate $269,401 from the unrestricted water fund reserves for the FY25—udget; 2) award the construction agreement to D & M Tank LLC not to exceed $244,910; and 3) encumber a 10 percent contingency totaling $24,491, was made, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Why it matters: The project funds and contract award move forward work to maintain water storage infrastructure and reflect the council ecision to prioritize contractor references in awarding the work.