Friday, March 29, 2024

Bridgeport council awards Foster Creek sidewalk contract to POW

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BRIDGEPORT – Work to complete the sidewalk along the far east end of Foster Creek Avenue can begin with the spring thaw after the city council awarded the project contract to POW Contracting at its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday, Nov. 16.
POW, of Pasco, was the lowest bidder for the sidewalk construction on the north side of Foster from the Bridgeport city sign to the State Route 17 Bridgeport Bridge, even though its low bid came in $70,000 above the project’s cost estimate.
The project has not come without its delays, including a title company error that initially misidentified ownership of the property that cost the city money and a lost opportunity to complete the sidewalk last year, when it would have been cheaper.
A funding pool through the State Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) that would reimburse a significant portion of the construction costs is currently depleted, Public Works Superintendent Stuart Dezellem said. While Dezellem is confident the funding will be restored by the end of the year, the revenue gap left the city with three options.
The first option was to abandon the project, which would require the city to repay an estimated $70,000 in federal funds used to pay for the project design work. Dezellem spoke for the entire council when he suggested council members would not want to see such a large block of public money go to waste.
The second option was to award the contract to POW and authorize an interfund loan between city departments, in this case water/sewer and street, to bridge the funding gap until TIB dollars became once again available.
The third option was to accept POW’s offer of a 45-day freeze on the contract price and terms while the city worked with the TIB and revisited the contract at its next regular meeting.
Dezellem said he and city clerk/treasurer Judy Brown worked through the third option and found no advantage to postponing the contract award since the city had the ability to exercise the necessary funding arrangements.
“By awarding the contract now we lock in the contractor and the price and ensure that we are his first spring obligation,” Dezellem said.
Mayor Janet Conklin encouraged council members to award the contract
Council first approved a Washington State Department of Transportation Federal Air Supplement required to authorize an increase in the project cost. It then voted to award the contract to POW, so work can commence with the first spring thaw.
The total cost of the project comes to $98,624 of which TIB funds would cover $47,000.
 

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