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| City Council gets ready for massive water project |
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| Written by John Saiz / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Saturday, 22 December 2007 | |
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“I think you’re going to see some red in this year’s budget.” — Kenny Buehner Area resident The city is on the verge of its largest water project, and a heated debate ensued at Patterson’s City Council meeting Tuesday over which company will oversee a multimillion-dollar project. Ultimately, the council decided to delay awarding the bid until it can get more information. City staff had recommended that the H20 Group should be the firm in charge of replacing the water and sewer pipes in old-town Patterson. Public Works Director Mike Willett listed several reasons that the $611,825 bid from H20 Group should be awarded, though GDR Engineering bid $490,351. “We did not ask for the cheapest package, but the best packages,” Willett said. He said the council should hire the H20 Group because it would try to use unconventional and possibly cheaper replacement methods, it has experience with replacing pipes in heavily populated areas and it has a strong public relations division. If it got the bid, the group would be responsible for designing old-town Patterson’s new water and sewer system and overseeing its construction. Willett said GDR is a good firm, but he said it is not experienced with this type of project. However, council members were unwilling to go with the more expensive bid. “I don’t think I can justify it to the community,” Mayor Becky Campo said. Councilman Sam Cuellar suggested that the council form a subcommittee of two council members that will oversee the selection process, though the entire council will still have final say. The other members unanimously agreed, but not before some audience members said GDR is just as good a firm as H20 and there is no reason to spend the extra money. “You have two equally qualified companies,” said developer J.P. Smith, stressing the word “equal.” Another man warned that the city is in store for economically lean times and should not award the more expensive bid. “I think you’re going to see some red in this year’s budget,” said area resident Kenny Buehner. Cort Abney of the H20 Group countered that by spending a little bit more now, the city will save money in the long run. “The real money to be saved is how you design it and construct it,” Abney said. “I don’t think (GDR) understands the true complexity of this project.” He said that the relatively small investment now would save millions in the long run. “Whether it’s going to be a $7 million or $9 million project is based on design,” he said. In all, the city received five bids, with GDR being the lowest. The highest bid was $943,081. Two other bids were slightly more than H20’s. Staff did not review any of the other bids Tuesday. Representatives from GDR were not at the meeting, but GDR president Gary Davis said by phone Thursday he suspects his company produced the lowest bid because it has 18 years of experience working in the city. “Our familiarity with Patterson really helped,” Davis said. To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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