Crews in La Grange will begin inspecting sewer lines from manhole to manhole this month as the village works to improve its sewer infrastructure after recent flooding inundated basements in numerous homes on the south side.
At a meeting on Monday, village trustees voted unanimously to award a $173,614 contract to Sheridan Plumbing and Sewer Inc. to clean and televise 11 of the village’s main sewer lines. The work is expected to start this month and will be completed within 60 days, according to a staff memo.
Trustees also approved spending an additional $36,040 in contracts with engineering consultant Baxter and Woodman, which will review and analyze the sewer footage.
“We’ve found that it’s an excellent tool to find out what is wrong and where it is wrong and get repairs taken care of before they become major repairs,” Trustee Mark Langan said. “Obviously water and our sewer system have been a significant issue for a number of years here.”
The village currently budgets about $60,000 annually to conduct sewer cleaning and televising, but recent flooding indicated a need to expand that program, according to the memo. As discussed during a capital projects workshop last month, the village will use general reserve funds to pay for the additional sewer televising and contract work.
Bids for the main sewer line work were solicited from 18 contractors on Aug. 7 and proposals from just three of those contractors were opened five days later.
Prior to voting in favor of the contract, Trustee Jim Palermo asked whether the five-day turnaround was “customary.”
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“Could we not have gotten more bids, bids that were lower numbers in as much as it’s two months later since they were opened?” Palermo said. “I think we ought to spend more time collecting bids.”
But staff explained that because the project was a major priority for the village, it was necessary to expedite the process.
“We’re not the only community that experienced flooding, and so a lot of the contractors that were out there indicated to us that they were extremely busy in other communities adjacent to ours,” Public Works Director Ryan Gillingham said. “I might also point out that the bid numbers are relatively centered around a particular value, so they’re not largely variable, which indicates that the price is probably about what we would expect.”
The three bids received ranged from $173,614 to $209,148, according to the memo. Langan, who voiced support for the quick bidding process, pointed out that the engineer’s estimate for the work was much higher, $275,000.
“Based on the climate, I think I’m willing to call the question and make a decision,” he said.