Appleton utilities committee approves contracts, accepts $65,000 DNR outreach grant and reviews chemical bids

The Appleton City Utilities Committee approved a set of routine business items on Wednesday, including two engineering contracts for stormwater management plan reviews, acceptance of a state outreach grant for lead service lines and a review of annual chemical quotation awards.

The committee approved the Nov. 11 meeting minutes by unanimous vote. It then recommended awarding a 2026 stormwater management plan review contract to Brown and Caldwell for an amount not to exceed $40,000 and a separate but related contract to R.A. Smith for an amount not to exceed $40,000. A staff director explained the city issued an RFP in 2023, received two bidders and expects to retain both firms because they bring complementary strengths; both contract recommendations passed 4-0.

The committee also voted to accept a Department of Natural Resources Lehi Service Line Replacement Community Outreach Grant totaling $65,000 to fund outreach to residents regarding private‑side lead and galvanized lateral replacements. Director Youngworth said the item had passed through the finance committee and is before the utilities committee for a recommendation to council.

As an informational item, staff summarized the 2026 Joint Chemical Consortium quotation awards with neighboring municipalities, saying bids were favorable, a couple of new suppliers were added and the projected budget outlook for next year is sound. An alder asked whether chemicals priced above $20.25 per pound were high‑volume items; staff said lime and potassium permanganate are among the most used chemicals and that the preliminary view was the price increases would not be a significant budgetary impact.

All formal motions reported during the meeting were approved by a 4-0 vote. The committee adjourned following the business items.