As hundreds of cyclists poured through the Summit City, there was hope that the event would not only bring some exercise and entertainment to the participants but hopefully a changed view of the community in general.FORT WAYNE – Fort Wayne will spend more than $2.3 million to hire three firms that will help manage multiple sewer utility construction projects.
The Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved contracts with CH2M Hill for $1.6 million, GAI Consultants for $421,723 and American Structurepoint for $280,000. All are to provide construction management for about $31 million worth of projects.
The largest construction project of the group is $22 million in improvements to the city’s combined sewer pump station. The project will allow the storage of more combined sewage by pumping sewage faster to the holding ponds on the north side of the Maumee River.
Zach Schortgen, City Utilities program manager, said the construction projects must be completed by 2013. He said hiring the firms was important because it will help the city meet numerous federal reporting deadlines and monitor progress on the projects.
Matthew Wirtz, deputy director of engineering for Fort Wayne City Utilities, said the city combined projects in an effort to save costs. By basically buying the contractors’ services in bulk, he said, the city was able to get a lower rate.
In addition, having one set of contracts for multiple projects helps the city oversee the work by reducing the number of firms it needs to work with during construction.
The city solicited proposals from about 120 firms and posted a request for proposals online. It received proposals from five teams.
The three firms that were eventually hired submitted a joint proposal for services and were selected as the most qualified.
City officials then negotiated the price and staffing they felt was necessary.
The large contracts come as the City Council is debating the best way for the city to hire professional service providers, such as engineers or attorneys.
Some have suggested using competitive bidding for services to drive down costs.
A proposal by the mayor to codify the process used for such contracts was delayed Tuesday as Mayor Tom Henry created a committee to study the issue.
Wirtz said the contracts were negotiated with price in mind and that the city uses industry benchmarks to help determine the appropriate costs for contracts. He said construction management contracts typically cost about 7 percent of a project’s construction costs.
The contracts must be approved by the council because of their high dollar amounts.
Relief sewer OK’d
In other business, the board approved the Swift Interceptor relief sewer north of the city.
The pipe will start at the end of the now-completed Upper Ely Interceptor just east of Interstate 69 and run parallel to the existing Swift Interceptor sewer pipe and the Roy Delagrange Ditch.
The new line will connect to the existing sewer at the end of Burning Tree Road and help alleviate sewer overflows during heavy rain.
The project is expected to cost $2.5 million and is to be constructed by the end of next year.
