Sturgis commission advances utility, sidewalk projects

The Sturgis City Commission approved a $300,000 biosolids removal contract, financing for a $452,128 new digger/bucket truck and a $660,088 bid from the second-lowest bidder for the Nottawa Street 69kV Transmission Line Project.

The meeting moved quickly and wrapped up in just over an hour, with all but one agenda item approved unanimously.

Sidewalk engineering

The lone non-unanimous item was the 2027 Sidewalk Repair Program, for which the city’s engineering department is contracting with Land & Resource Engineering, or LRE, to provide bidding services and limited construction observation.

LRE will make one site visit every other week during construction to inspect and document the contractor’s sidewalk work, City Engineer Patrick Verderese said.

Commissioner Richard Bir questioned why the department needed to contract out the engineering work, which Verderese said was due to limited staff capacity. Verderese said the department is currently working on more than a dozen projects and does not have the capacity to take this one on.

“Seems like an awful lot of money to come down every two weeks to check on progress,” Bir said.

The agreement authorizes up to $19,640 for engineering services: $7,500 for design engineering and $12,140 for construction engineering.

“We are extremely busy, we just can’t handle, in the engineering department right now, taking that on,” Verderese said. 

The motion passed 7-1, with Bir casting the lone dissenting vote. Commissioners Cathi Abbs, Dan Boring, Justin Wickey, Marvin Smith, Aaron Miller, Vice Mayor Jeff Mullins and Mayor Frank Perez voted yes.

“There’s not a whole lot to do to take out a piece of sidewalk, form it and pour it down, and you’re going to want to hire the contractor that’s closest to the area,” Bir said. “So I would just think that the city could do it a little bit cheaper than spending $20,000 for an engineering firm.”

69kV Transmission Line

Commissioners unanimously approved the second-lowest bid for the Nottawa Street 69kV Transmission Line Project, awarding the $660,088 contract to Newkirk Electric.

The lowest bidder, Xtreme Powerline, submitted a $429,091 bid but provided references only from large investor-owned utilities after the city requested references from municipal or cooperative utilities. Only one of those references responded when contacted, according to Electric Department Superintendent Chris McArthur. 

McArthur said Xtreme’s substantially lower bid raised concerns that the company may not have understood the full scope of the project. McArthur said selecting Xtreme could have resulted in additional costs once construction began.

Digger truck financing

Commissioners also unanimously approved a $452,128 installment purchase agreement to finance a new digger/derrick truck through Southern Michigan Bank & Trust at a 4.13% interest rate for a term of up to 10 years.

The truck is used to dig holes and set poles and large transformers, according to the staff report.

Biosolid removal

Commissioners unanimously approved a four-year, $300,000 biosolids removal and land application contract with Wealing Brothers LLC.

The city’s wastewater treatment plant produces approximately one million gallons of biosolids each year that require proper disposal under EGLE regulations. The city identifies agricultural land application as its preferred disposal method.

The removal and land application work is expected to take place about once a year, and be completed by November 30 each year.

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.