Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Yorkville City Council has decided to postpone Elizabeth Street water main improvements this year.
The improvements were scheduled for completion prior to the coronavirus outbreak, but are not critical to the operations of the city’s water system this year, Yorkville Mayor John Purcell said.
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“We would like to do it but we think it would be better to preserve the cash,” he said.
Aldermen were prepared to award a low-bid $412,973 contract to Minooka-based Superior Excavating and approve an associated engineering agreement for the work. Three other companies submitted bids earlier this spring for the project.
The city has an estimated $600,000 reserved in the 2021 fiscal year water fund budget for the upgrades.
The system upgrades are designed to improve water quality. However, it was not recommended for completion for any health or safety risks involved, city officials said.
“Because of the large price tag for the project, our desire to protect organization cash flow, and the project’s lack of urgency as it relates to health, safety or legal mandate, we recommend rejecting all bids and delaying the project indefinitely,” City Administrator Bart Olson said in a report to aldermen.
The water main is more than 60 years old and services more than 24 homes directly and many more indirectly, city officials said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.