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Ronan city council gets water project update

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RONAN – Time is of the essence for the Ronan Water Project noted Billie Lee, Executive Director of the Lake County Community Development Corporation during the regularly scheduled council meeting Monday Sept. 12. Lee said the project must have a ground breaking by October to show Rural Development they are making progress, and to hopefully have a notice of award by October.

The Ronan Water Project is a water system improvement project that includes a 250,000 gallon storage tank at ground level and a 600 gallon-per-minute well. According to a press release, old main pipe sections in Ronan need to be replaced due to potentially high pressures in town that cause pipe failures in the old ductile iron pipe.

The project will also feature a surface water treatment plant, an ultra violet and filtration footprint, and an isolated pressure zone for upper users. Any remaining money from the project will go towards water main replacement in Ronan.

According to a press release, the long-term goal of the water project is to replace all older mains in town subject to failure under higher pressures. When this is achieved, Ronan will be able to completely fill and use the existing storage tank volume.

After Lee’s update, City Engineer Shari Johnson informed the council on the recent bid results, which were opened Aug. 31.

According to Johnson, the law requires her to perform reference checks on the two lowest bidders, and was ready to give her recommendation as to who should be awarded the contract for the water project, which includes two buildings that need to be constructed.

“We had some issues,” Johnson said.

Johnson said they had one very low bid compared to the others, stating it was very unbalanced, and that the owner has the right to decline unbalanced bids. Upon a closer look into the low-bidding company, she suggested the council disqualify them because they are an irresponsible bidder. Council member Tom McDonald shared his experience with the low-bidding company during previous jobs.

“I’ve had five jobs done by them; and had problems on all the jobs,” McDonald said. “If you’re watching them they do a good job. But they’re nice people.”

The second lowest bid was from Intermountain Construction Services in Butte, who seemed like a better fit for the job, Johnson suggested.

Council approved the bid for $1,982,620, the cost of the project, assuming the project receives concurrence from the funding agencies.

The next meeting for Ronan city council will be held Sept. 26.

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