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Council approves Birch Street reconstruction award to low bidder, holds some paving to cover grant match
Summary
Council approved a low bid award for the Birch Street reconstruction project after staff explained stacked grant matches pushed the project slightly over budget; the borough plans to start work in August, add a larger contingency and complete sanitary repairs before paving.
The Kennett Borough Council on Monday approved the low bid for the Birch Street reconstruction project and authorized staff to proceed with contracting, after hearing that stacked grant matches left the borough responsible for an additional local match.
In remarks introducing the item, borough manager Kyle said the project is the product of several years of grant work and about a year of design; if awarded, construction would begin in August and take about a year. Rob, the borough’s public works engineer, told the council that when the grant partner from a neighboring township agreed to contribute, the borough became responsible for matching that partner’s share as well, pushing project costs above the original budget.
Rob said the borough received multiple bids, selected the lowest responsive bidder and built a larger contingency into the contract. "When we received the bids the lowest bid was still, once we started putting the engineering fees and the requirements of matching grants together, slightly above what our budget would be," he said. Staff recommended tabling some paving work up front to preserve a cushion and rely on a 10% contingency (the borough normally budgets 5%).
Council members pressed staff on underground utilities and timing. Rob said recent gas-main and water-main work has already been completed on the corridor; sanitary sewer inspection revealed cracks that the borough plans to address first, and staff said bids to re-line sanitary sewer would be brought in July so those repairs can be finished before road crews begin paving.
Council made a motion to approve the contract award to the low bidder listed in the packet (listed as "Jerck Incorporated" in the materials). A second was recorded; the motion carried. Detailed roll-call vote totals were not read into the record at the time of the motion.
The borough expects to begin construction in August, with about a year of work on the street. Staff said the intent of holding some paving scope and using the contingency is to complete the project within available funds and avoid overextending the capital program.
