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Hays considers single‑bid drilling contract and warns Well No. 3 will be delayed
Summary
City staff reported only one bid for Country Lane Well No. 3 (DK Drilling at $113,134.20), disclosed missing line items (supply line, plugging) and said the completion timeline has slipped into December–February; council authorized staff to start contracting negotiations with the bidder and asked for firm deadlines.
City staff told the Hays City Council that Country Lane Well No. 3 remains delayed and that only one formal drilling proposal was returned to the city. The staff report showed an estimate from DK Drilling (estimate number 11428) for $113,134.20, but staff said the proposal did not include the water supply line to the pump station or the well‑plugging work.
Council members pressed staff on schedule slippage, noting the project had been expected to be ready by September with a November contingency; staff said the anticipated completion window has moved to December through February. One council member said the community had previously experienced multi‑day outages and asked what assurances the city could obtain from a contractor that the well would be operational. Staff said they would negotiate a firm contract with the bidder; a motion to direct staff to begin contracting with BK Drilling and return a reviewed contract to the city attorney for prompt review carried unanimously.
Council also discussed procurement options, including seeking additional bids versus negotiating a fuller scope with the single responder. The council asked the city attorney to review any contract the city signs and requested that staff include the missing supply line and plugging scope or a separate line item for those services. The budget line for the well project was discussed: staff noted the proposed budget includes $204,099 for the well program and that the current bid amount, even with an estimated $20,000 addition for omitted items, remains below the allocated capital figure.
“DK Drilling…estimate number 11428…and the decays proposal [is] for an amount of $113,134.20,” the engineer reported in presenting the procurement results; council then voted to allow staff to begin contracting negotiations and to have the city attorney review the resulting agreement.
