Alma tentatively awards $38.5 million wastewater plant contract; engineers urge experience

The Alma City Commission tentatively awarded the construction contract for a major wastewater treatment plant replacement to E&L Construction Group (Flint) in a motion to receive bids and adopt a tentative award, preserving the city's eligibility for Drinking Water/CWSRF funding. The tentative award amount read at the meeting was $38,487,540. Commissioners were clear this was a tentative award to maintain SRF funding eligibility, not final contract execution.

Andy Austin, a wastewater engineer with Fishbeck, reviewed deficiencies at Alma's aging plant (many components 50-plus years old): undersized and deteriorating clarifiers, lack of grit removal, electrical switchgear and lab facilities past useful life, polishing ponds overrun with algae and located in a floodplain, and the absence of SCADA for remote monitoring. He described the design improvements that were bid: a new main building with updated headworks and screening, a vortex grit system, properly sized pumps (three duty, one standby), decoupled mixing and aeration in the aeration basins, two new 12-foot-deep secondary clarifiers, new tertiary filters to replace polishing ponds, new SCADA and remote lift-station control panels, a new lab and operator spaces, and new utilities under Washington Ave. Fishbeck explained temporary bracing and short-term repairs would be required to keep an existing clarifier operational during construction.

Fishbeck reported five bids were received and that the engineering team interviewed the three low bidders (Spence Brothers, E&L Construction Group, and RCL). The low base bid was from Spence Brothers, but Fishbeck highlighted differences in subcontractor experience: the mechanical subcontract nominated by the low bidder has less documented experience on projects of this scale than the mechanical teams associated with some other bidders. Fishbeck and staff emphasized that municipal sequencing and contractor familiarity with large wastewater projects are critical because the plant must remain operational while systems are replaced.

Commissioners discussed the approximately $1.9 million difference between the two lowest bids and asked Fishbeck about references, previous project sizes and the team that would perform mechanical and electrical work. Staff and one commissioner said they favored a contractor with more municipal-scale experience to reduce construction sequencing risk; Fishbeck confirmed that E&L and RCL had prior experience on projects similar in size.

Fishbeck also explained the SRF timeline: bids opened June 10, a tentative award must be made by July 1 to keep the project in the SRF pipeline, and a loan closing is scheduled later (August 27 in the SRF timeline). Fishbeck said it had requested additional SRF funds and would share updates when available.

The commission moved to tentatively award the contract to E&L Construction Group and the motion passed by voice vote. The tentative award keeps the project eligible for SRF funding and allows the city to continue toward loan closing and final contract negotiations. Staff and commissioners directed that final contractor selection and any adjustments be coordinated with Fishbeck and that experience and sequencing considerations be part of the final approval process.

What happens next: the tentative award preserves SRF eligibility and allows the city to proceed toward contract negotiations and loan closing. Final approvals, financing details and any substitution of alternates will be subject to later resolutions and the standard contracting process.