BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL ACCEPTS $25.7 MILLION BID TO UPGRADE SURFACE WATER TREATMENT PLANT

  

The Brenham City Council today (Thursday) accepted a bid for a swath of improvements to the city’s surface water treatment plant.

The council approved the $25.77 million bid from Dudley Construction, LLC of College Station, the lowest of two bidders on the project to rehabilitate and expand the plant at 1105 South Austin Street.  The bid was submitted at $26.97 million, but the council elected to proceed with a deductive bid alternate reducing the cost by $1.2 million.

City of Brenham Municipal Gas and Utility Services Director Shawn Bolenbarr said the large project is one of the steps in furthering the city’s water capacity, with the drilling of the water wells being another piece.  Currently, the plant is graded at 6.94 million gallons of water per day, and Bolenbarr said these upgrades will increase the plant’s capabilities up to 8.35 million gallons, which essentially matches what the city can receive from its main line at Lake Somerville. 

In March, the city council authorized issuing up to $29.86 million in certificates of obligation for purposes including improvements to the city’s waterworks and sanitary sewer systems and facilities.

Mayor Atwood Kenjura said historically, this appears to be the largest bid the city has ever done for a project, but also that this is “a big step forward for the future of the city.”

Bolenbarr said the city plans to issue a construction notice to proceed in December.  Completion is expected by February or March of 2028. 

Also at today’s meeting, the council:

• Approved the appointment of Gabriela Trejo as Deputy City Secretary.
• Agreed to enter a professional services agreement with Strand Associates for engineering services for Highway 105 main and gravity sewer improvements.  The agreement is to provide design, bidding-related and construction-related services for the upgrades, which consist of installing approximately 4,100 linear feet of dual 12-inch force main replacement and 3,800 linear feet of 24-inch and 30-inch gravity sanitary sewer main.  The cost of the agreement is not to exceed $280,000.
• Accepted a bid from Meter Matters to remove old water meters and install new ones, at a cost of $147,826.  The project consists of the installation of approximately 1,310 one-inch water meters and 1,379 0.75-inch water meters.
• Approved the purchase of two Paco KP horizontal split case pumps for the city’s water treatment plant, at a cost of $55,813.
• Approved an amendment to a multi-year agreement for third-party data integration from Axon Enterprises, Inc.  The agreement, which is for $76,846 and services the Brenham Police Department, is being amended to include unlimited third-party data integration, allowing the department to directly integrate external data sources, like CCTV footage and other public safety technologies, into the Axon ecosystem.
• Held executive session discussion regarding the purchase, exchange or acquisition of real property for City of Brenham Electric Department improvements and facilities.  No action was slated to be taken.

Click here to view the agenda packet for Thursday’s meeting.