Bids for sewage pumps rejected

Published 11:00 am Wednesday, July 4, 2007

The town of Coupeville rejected two bids to replace a sewage lift station on Front Street because they were too expensive.

The town had $417,000 budgeted for the project, however the bids came in hundreds of thousands of dollars over that amount.

C. Johnson Construction of Oak Harbor bid $768,398 and Callen Construction of Custer, Wash., bid $672,520 for the project.

Several factors contributed to the higher than expected bids.

Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard said during last week’s Town Council meeting the engineer’s estimate for the electrical station was incorrect.

She said having electrical work rolled into the project made it more expensive. By separating the electrical and generator work from the remainder of the project, she hopes the town will receive more reasonable bids.

The town wants to replace the sewage lift station and part of the sewer main on Front Street. It’s been approximately 20 years since the sewage station received an upgrade. The station, which is located near the Coupeville Wharf, pumps sewage from the west side of town to the treatment plant located next to Captain Coupe Park.