Utilities committee approves $54,038 contract to recoat Lindbergh standpipe

The Appleton City Utilities Committee approved an engineering services contract for the Lindbergh Standpipe Coating Project on a 4-0 vote, awarding Dixon Engineering Incorporated $51,465 plus a 5% contingency of $2,573 for a total of $54,038.

The Chair called for the vote after the Director explained the need for a premature recoating. The Director said the standpipe was coated inside and out in 2019 but that the top coat showed early delamination because of intermittent condensation during the original work. "What we can't see is what you can't see," the Director said, describing how brief condensation episodes during heating compromised adhesion.

The Director told the committee the city is using unused operations-and-maintenance funds from earlier Mathias and Ridgeway coating projects to pay for the work. The contract was awarded after an RFP process; the selected firm received the highest technical score, and the Director said the committee favored a firm that proposed more field presence and oversight even though its fee was higher.

Committee members asked no substantive questions after the Director's explanation. The Chair noted the motion and second on the floor and then said the measure was "recommended four-zero for approval." The contract now proceeds to the administrative steps required for execution and scheduling; the Director said the tank will be taken out of service temporarily for the work and scheduling will be coordinated with ongoing distribution-system work.

The committee took no amendments to the contract and did not require additional budget appropriation beyond the previously approved transfer. The approved motion appears as agenda item 26-0175 in the committee record.