Council considers bids, discusses pool repairs
"The swimming pool is a project we need to do. The water loss there has been to a point that it is costing you a lot of money to operate. " -- Michael Stoldt City manager
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

The Lampasas City Council on Monday unanimously accepted Jerry Goodson Surveying Inc.'s bid for surveying services at the new high school site and tabled discussion of bids for the Hanna Springs Swimming Pool renovation project.

Goodson Surveying's quote, for an amount not to exceed $5,500, includes the cost of surveying easements for city acquisition on the east side of U.S. Highway 281. Goodson Surveying also will assist in the extensions of water and wastewater lines south on U.S. 281 from existing lines to the new school.

City officials said they did not contact Maples & Associates Land Surveyors because Paul Maples' workload would not have left him enough time to complete the project.

The council voted 7-0 to table consideration of bids for Hanna Springs Swimming Pool renovations. Members will consult with an attorney before awarding a contract at a special meeting set for 6 p.m. Monday.

City staff received three bids, but only Aquatic Renovation Sysadded. tems submitted a base bid -- for salvaging and reinstalling the pool's existing gutter system -- along with an alternate amount for a new gutter system. The company bid $482,651, the lowest of the three proposals, for alternate work.

In addition, Aquatic Renovation Systems' $437,882 voluntary alternate includes a 15-year warranty on both a new stainless steel gutter and on a PVC membrane liner to replace the existing marcite pool finish.

The city has only $300,500 budgeted for the pool work, but City Manager Michael Stoldt said lineitem transfers from general fund capital projects would provide enough funding to cover renovation expenses. General fund projects for 2007-08 total $2.18 million, but the city has $434,880 in unobligated funds, mostly because the Texas Department of Transportation has postponed the Key Avenue project until 2009, he said.

Aquatic Renovation Systems submitted a 183-day timeline for renovating the pool, meaning work might be completed by late April or early May. Completion by May would allow the city to open the facility for the summer, said Stoldt.

"The swimming pool is a project we need to do," he said. "The water loss there has been to a point that it is costing you a lot of money to operate. It is endangering the longterm well-being of the facility, and we need to move on something now."

In other business, the council unanimously rejected a $340,910 bid from Techline Inc. for Crider Lane and Farm-to-Market Road 580 West projects. The city has only $284,276 budgeted, and the council followed the recommendation of Schneider Engineering, which considered the unit cost per mile "excessive."

The projects call for upgrading the Crider Lane electric line to a double-circuit line from the Naruna considers bids, Substation to the new line at Old

Georgetown Road. In addition, contractors will reconstruct, upgrade and extend the FM 580 line from West Avenue B to the west side of the new sports complex. The line also would serve the Stone Valley Subdivision and any additional development.

Techline's bid equates to about $190,000 per mile on Crider Lane, whereas similar double-circuit line projects have cost less than $100,000 per mile, Schneider engineer Gerry Nunan stated in a letter to Public Works Director Randy Clark.

Only one of five contractors expected to bid provided quotes for the project. The city will re-solicit bids as "labor only" projects and will check quotes for material prices separately. Staff have not yet determined if the city will need to receive formal bids for materials, Clark said.

In another matter, the City Council voted unanimously to suspend for 90 days a proposed rate increase by the Mid-Tex Division of Atmos Energy Corp. The corporation proposed a 3.5 percent increase, including gas costs.

Stoldt said the suspension would allow city staff more time to gather information about the proposed rate schedule.

In another unanimous vote, the council OK'd Austin-based Texas Power Construction's $269,500 bid for the Naruna Road and Lampasas Substation Feeder additions and upgrades.

The council also voted 7-0 to approve an updated agreement with City Attorney Sue Faulkner, whose pay will increase from $75 to $100 per hour.