JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
Marion County’s Board of Mayor & Commissioners unanimously approved bids for two separate waterline projects located within the community.
After much discussion across several county commission meetings, the board has given the go ahead to accept bids for South Pittsburg Mountain’s waterline extension project, the bid approved worth $817,180 from Nitschke Communications Inc.
County Mayor David Jackson explained all bids were opened and reviewed the afternoon prior to the meeting, where engineering firm Stantec gave its approval due to the company’s past experience with major waterlines.
“They’ve done waterline projects in the past and all their bid numbers look good. So, our engineer recommends that we accept the low bid of $817,180,” said Jackson.
Upon Nitschke Communications’ bid being approved, discussion moved towards South Pittsburg and Kimball’s ongoing interlocal waterline project for a new waterline alignment. During the discussion, Mayor Jackson pointed out six bids were submitted to the county from different contractors aiming to work on the project. The lowest bid submitted was from Alabama based company Rev Construction Inc., which was worth $1,509,270. The bid was recommended for approval by Croy Engineering in Chattanooga, a recommendation ultimately agreed to by the entire board.
“You have a letter here from Croy Engineering recommending that we accept that low bid from Rev,” stated Jackson to all commissioners.
Jackson further noted once approved, the bid would then have to go through both the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and international service firm Ernst & Young for finalization due to the project being funded by a non-competitive grant from TDEC. All grant funds utilized must be matched by both South Pittsburg and Kimball, with both cities having to pay over $500,000 towards the given match from the grant.
“This money to fund this is TDEC non-competitive grant money, in addition to over $500,000 from the town of Kimball and South Pittsburg to pay the match,” explained Jackson.
With both bids approved by the commission, progress for both projects are now further underway within the greater community.