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Committee recommends $5.815 million Whitaker contract for Well No. 13 water treatment plant
Summary
City staff told the committee bids for Well No. 13 ranged from about $5.8M to $6.7M—well above the 2022 estimate—citing inflation, a larger building and $900,000 in specialized equipment; the committee recommended rejecting bids, waiving competitive bidding and entering a contract with Whitaker Construction for $5,815,000.
On May 12, 2025 the Warrenville Public Works & Infrastructure Committee voted to recommend that the City Council reject all bids for the Well Number 13 Water Treatment Plant and waive competitive bidding to enter a contract with Whitaker Construction & Excavating Inc. for $5,815,000.
Director Phil Kuchler told the committee the city opened four bids on March 27 that ranged roughly from $5.8 million to $6.7 million, compared with an original 2022 engineer’s estimate of $2,569,000 and an updated estimate of $4,750,000. Kuchler and the project team attributed the roughly $3.2 million gap to several concrete factors: an increase in building size from about 2,000 square feet to 2,600 square feet, changes to interior design, sharp inflation in construction markets, and notably higher prices for specialized water‑treatment equipment and skilled mechanical and electrical subcontractors. "The equipment itself is actually listed on here … that was about $900,000 for the treatment equipment," the project engineer said.
Kuchler said staff and the finance director (Dahlstrom) have reviewed funding and that TIF 4 has a fund balance sufficient to cover the increase without raising taxes. He also explained staff evaluated bids and found the low bidder did not meet a 51% self‑performance requirement; Whitaker, the recommended contractor, certified it will self‑perform 52% and confirmed it will honor its bid prices.
Committee members pressed staff on potential savings (metal roofing, value engineering, optional solar panels of roughly $92,000) and whether to delay award to seek adjusted pricing; staff warned that Whitaker’s bid prices are time‑sensitive (about 45 days old) and delaying could risk higher costs. Kuchler said the contract price is locked once executed unless there is a scope change.
Alderman Lockett moved and Alderman Wilkie seconded the committee recommendation to reject the bids, waive competitive bidding and enter the Whitaker contract; the committee voice‑voted "Aye" and the motion passed. The recommendation will go to the City Council for final action at the next council meeting.
What happens next: staff said they will talk to Whitaker about potential value‑engineering ideas before council consideration but recommended the council be presented with the contract as currently proposed so the city can begin work without further pricing risk.
