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Council awards Cedar Street water-main replacement amid debate over asset-management priority
Summary
The council awarded a pipe-burst replacement for a 1928 cast-iron water main on Cedar Street—citing pressure concerns where a new 8" police-station main meets the older 6" main—but one council member voted no, arguing the project leapfrogged the published asset management plan.
The St. Clair Shores City Council voted 5–1 to award the Cedar Street water-main replacement project to the low bidder (Bidder Gary) using a pipe-burst replacement method, with a 10% contingency, after engineers said the existing 6" cast-iron main (installed in 1928) is at elevated risk of failure and is hydraulically constrained where it connects to a recently replaced 8" main near the police station.
City engineers recommended the pipe-burst method as minimally disruptive and appropriate to replace the aging pipe. The staff presentation noted the line’s age, condition and the pressure concerns created by the new 8" installation adjacent to the old main. The recommended contract award plus contingency produced a total project authorization of $750,631.
Council member Karen pressed staff on why Cedar was advanced now rather than following the previously adopted asset management schedule; she said the asset plan laid out a multiyear priority list and objected to jumping the schedule. Staff and other council members argued the change reflected new conditions—specifically the recent police-station connection and a string of winter breaks—that warranted moving the line ahead in the short term. Karen said she would vote against the award on principle of following the asset-management plan; the motion passed 5–1.
The contractor selection includes the stated contingency and required coordination with city engineering for minimal surface disruption. Council asked staff to keep the asset management plan updated and to explain schedule changes when projects are advanced out of sequence.
The project will move forward under the awarded contract and the department will manage construction scheduling and resident notifications.
