Robertsdale Council approves bid for sewer project

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ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — The Robertsdale City Council voted at its regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 16 to award a bid contract for a sewer improvement project which will be paid for by a Community Development Block Grant.

The council voted unanimously to award the project to Suncoast Infrastructure Inc. of Florence, Mississippi, and while the bid, which was just under $320,000, was about $70,000 over the budget for the project, it shouldn’t be a problem, officials said.

“These estimates were done back in 2018, so this is something that we were anticipating and can adjust accordingly,” said Mayor Charles Murphy during the council meeting.

The total grant project was estimated at $495,000 with a 10 percent match from the city (around $45,000, which will be an in-kind match with work being performed by city crews). Approximately $250,000 was budgeted for sewage system improvements, with the remaining budget to be spent on drainage improvements.

“There is an allowance for overages of about 10 percent,” said Denise King with Goodwyn Mills Cawood, the project engineer. “At most it will cost the city about $50,000, but we should be able to make adjustments later in the process.”

A total of seven bids were received for the project. Suncoast Infrastructure was the low bidder at $319,950 with the highest bid coming in at $398,737.50.

In other business, the council voted to allow AARP to use a city facility for a tax-filing assistance program for senior adults.

Jim Hutchison with AARP came before the council on Nov. 16, requesting the use of the PZK Hall from February through April 15.

“For several years we have used the Council on Aging offices for in-person consultations,” Hutchison said, “but will not be able to use that facility because of the Coronavirus outbreak. We were hoping to be able to use a facility with enough space that our preparers could spread out and we are making adjustments in order to limit in-person visits.”

AARP would only use the facility two days a week, Hutchison said, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Council members expressed concerns over using the PZK Hall, which is currently being used by the Alabama Department of Health for COVID-19 testing. If the PZK Hall is unavailable, AARP could use the George P. Thames Adult Activity Center, which is currently closed because of COVID restrictions.

In other business Nov. 16, the council:

  • Approved the selection of a Business of the Year, which will be handed out at the Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Banquet in January.
  • Approved a schedule for finalizing the council’s agenda.
  • Tabled a measure to affirm the city’s policy regarding public records requests.