ASHLAND - The Ashland Area Municipal Authority opened five bids at Monday's meeting for major repairs to the water storage tank at 22nd Street in the borough.
The bids ranged from $252,500 to $333,895, with the lowest bid coming from JNP Construction Corp., South Hackensack, N.J.
Natalie L. O'Connor, EIT, senior designer with Alfred Benesch and Co., the authority's consulting engineer, opened the bids.
The capacity of the 55-foot-high tank is 1 million gallons, but in recent years the water level has been held at about 40 feet, or 80 percent of capacity, due to leaks caused by the weakening of the tank walls near the top.
After the bids were opened, O'Connor explained that the bid specifications were based on what is known about the condition of the tank, but the cost could escalate on what is found when the repair work begins.
"You have to keep in mind that we bid the project with unit prices - so many square feet of seal, so many square feet of pit filler," O'Connor said to the AAMA board. "When they sandblast the tank, that's when we'll know exactly how much steel needs replacing and how much pit filler we'll need. We estimated so many percent that we thought we would need for those repairs. After we sandblast, it could be better or could be worse."
After the meeting, O'Connor explained with more detail what would be done.
"The tank is leaking in a number of spots and has been for years," O'Connor said. "The authority is going to clean the entire interior of the tank, removing the grease and wax, identify where steel needs to be replaced, and then apply multiple coats of epoxy that will last 20 to 25 years. The wax coating that has been used only lasts about three to five years. There is much more capital cost doing it this way, but it has a much longer life. The repairs just need to be done."
Board member Jerome Schmoltze asked whether the bidders, particularly JNP, provided references to other projects. O'Connor read a list of projects in different communities that JNP has been involved.
Authority solicitor S. John Price said financing has been approved through Miners Bank, Minersville. According to borough treasurer Patty Moyer, solicitations for proposals have also been made to financial institutions with branches in the area.
While there was some discussion about not making a decision on accepting the low bid until the loan financing options could be considered, board member Francis Menne recommended that a decision should be made.
"Why prolong the agony?" Menne said. "Why don't we motion to approve subject to review of all appropriate documents by the solicitor and we check every reference they (JNP) have."
Price recommended the motion to accept JNP's bid be contingent on review of JNP and its references, and if JNP is not satisfactory, then the second lowest bidder should be also reviewed.
O'Connor recommended to wait until next month to make the bid award when the financing is in place.
"Personally, I'm anxious to get going," said board Chairman Lawrence Madden.
The board consensus was to not accept the low bid until the financing options were available, which Moyer said would be within a week, and then call for a special meeting in May for the approvals.
O'Connor said when the repairs begin, the water tank will be out of service for about two months. The tank provides a large water supply during a fire, with fire trucks drawing from tank. Pressure tests have been conducted by O'Connor and AAMA filtration plant operator William Miller indicate that when the tank is shut off, water pressure at the top of town was not greatly affected. An additional water supply during a fire emergency is also available from the 300,000-gallon storage tank near the filtration plant.
"I have contacted Aqua Pennsylvania regarding the use of the interconnect during the time the tank is out of service," O'Connor said. "A meter will have to be installed, as well as possibly flushing the line between the two systems."
The Ashland water system has an interconnection near the village of Big Mine Run with the Roaring Creek Division of Aqua Pennsylvania. The interconnection has been used in the past during bad droughts when the authority's reservoir in Butler Township runs very low.
"We will get more information regarding the costs and possibly a temporary contract to be executed during tank repairs," O'Connor said. "We will also suggest the borough fire chief issue a tanker alert to neighboring communities in case of an emergency."