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Brookfield board amends lead-service replacement policy to allow resident upgrades amid bidding anomalies
Summary
Trustees approved a policy change allowing residents to upgrade their private water-service size during village-led lead-line replacements; staff said anomalies in bids can make larger services cheaper in some cases and residents would pay differences when applicable.
The Village of Brookfield board on Oct. 27 amended its lead water service line replacement policy to permit residents to accept an upsized service when the contractor’s bid makes that option cost-neutral or advantageous to the village.
Trustee Naramatsu moved for the amendment and Trustee Gokhuli seconded. Tim, a member of village management, summarized the change: the village had previously committed to replacing a homeowner’s 1-inch lead service with a 1-inch copper service; the policy amendment allows the village to accept a larger service size if the bid pricing makes the larger size cheaper or cost-neutral. "If it's cheaper, if it's a win it's a win," Tim said.
Derek Triclauer, the village engineer, clarified the practical effect and noted bid anomalies: in many projects a 1.5-inch copper service typically costs about $2,000 more than a 1-inch service, but in a small number of contractor bids the 1.5-inch services were priced lower. He told the board the policy permits homeowners who want an upsized service to pay any difference when the change would increase village costs, and that the policy intends to allow an upgrade where it benefits the resident and the village.
Trustees asked whether the village should upgrade all services if the larger size sometimes costs less; staff said widespread, proactive upgrades are impractical because the program cannot cover meter replacement or water-main replacement and there are hundreds of services.
The motion passed by roll call. The amendment takes effect immediately for projects where replacement is occurring and staff will apply it on a case-by-case basis.
Provenance: Discussion and vote on the lead-service policy amendment are recorded beginning with the motion to amend (SEG 523) through staff summaries and engineering clarification (SEG 651).
