Treatment Plant Bids Too Few and Too High

ELLSWORTH — The city received just two bids Thursday for construction of a wastewater treatment plant, both significantly higher than anticipated, City Manager Michelle Beal said.

The City Council held an emergency meeting Friday morning and voted to reject the bids, both from New Hampshire firms.

The bids were as follows:

Apex Construction: $16,956,600.

Penta Corp.: $14,078,500.

“They came in significantly higher than anticipated,” said Beal. “We were expecting more than two [bids] and about three million less. The city can’t afford a $14-million dollar plant.”

Now the city will try to find out why more firms didn’t bid on the project, Beal said.

“You can’t do that unless you reject the bids, plus we need to get that back out to bid as quickly as possible,” Beal said.

For more political news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.

Comments (0)