Commission awards $230,695 water-main contract for Silver Nail Road, approves $210,768 in materials purchases

The Waukesha Utility Commission on Feb. 20 approved a $230,695.74 contract with Lalonde Contractors Inc. for the water-main portion of the Silver Nail Road public-works project and separately approved materials purchases totaling $210,768.83.

Kelly, a utility staff presenter, described the work as an 8-inch and 12-inch water-main segment included in a broader city street-improvement project and said Lalonde was the low bidder for the overall job though not the low bidder specifically for water main. Kelly said the utility has used MJ Construction as a subcontractor on past projects. "It's just more cost effective to work with the city than try to go out on our own on something like this," Kelly said.

Commissioners asked whether the new main would extend all the way to Meadowbrook; staff said the main will stop where it serves customers and that the utility does not plan to extend it further at this time because that would not be the best use of funds.

The commission also approved material orders recommended by Matt, the construction manager, for $107,828.99 from Ferguson and $102,939.84 from Core & Main to maintain inventory and manage lead times. Matt told commissioners the vendors’ lead times were similar overall but noted Core & Main had a shorter lead time on hydrants.

Both the water-main contract and the materials purchases were approved by voice vote with no opposing votes recorded in the transcript.

The water-main project was approved by the Public Works Committee and is scheduled to be considered by the common council later the same night; staff said construction has not started and project costs in the utility spreadsheet will rise as work proceeds.