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Council directs staff to pursue design and bidding for water‑main replacements tied to street projects
Summary
Council directed staff to continue engineering design and submit plans for review after staff discovered water‑main replacements were omitted from the original street project scope; preliminary engineer estimate is $442,795 and staff said sufficient budget surplus exists to cover the work pending formal bidding.
The Sydney City Council on March 20 directed staff to continue engineering and seek competitive bids for water‑main replacements on Hickory, 11th and King streets after staff discovered those utilities were not included in the original street construction scope.
Interim City Manager Josh Anthony explained the oversight and said a preliminary design and cost estimate provided by MC Shaft Associates is $442,795. He told the council the street project carried a budget surplus (approximately $666,475) and that, even after the water‑main estimate, the combined project would still show a surplus. Anthony said the city must go back out to bid because the water work is a separate scope exceeding procurement thresholds.
The council voted to direct staff to continue working with the engineer, submit the water‑utility designs to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy for review and return with a bid package and recommended award for council consideration. The motion passed on a roll call with Councilmembers Radcliffe, Lee, Kirkman, Coons and Bondigard voting yes.
Council members asked about service interruptions; staff replied that crews typically install the new main adjacent to the existing line and keep service active until connections are made, causing only minimal disruption.
Next steps: staff will finalize engineering designs, submit them for state review, advertise for bids as required by procurement rules and return to council with recommendations for award.
