Chesterton awards utility corridor bid to Crown Point company
By John Robbins Post-Tribune correspondent August 2, 2012 1:24PM
Updated: August 2, 2012 10:40PM
It was nip and tuck until the end but the Chesterton utility corridor has surmounted the final hurdle and is closer to reality.
The Chesterton Redevelopment Commission met in special session Thursday to award the contract for construction to lowest bidder LGS Plumbing, Inc., of Crown Point.
LGS Plumbing submitted a bid of $2,880,865 to perform the work of extending water and sewage lines along Indiana 49.
The commission had to await action by the Porter County Council, which met in special session on Monday, before deciding which construction alternate would be awarded.
The County Council ultimately approved giving $742,409 of County Economic Development Income Tax (CEDIT) funds to Chesterton.
The county’s actions allow Chesterton to increase capacity of the project by installing 10-inch, rather than 6-inch diameter pipe.
“This upsize of the project is to accommodate the unincorporated area of the county,” said town attorney Chuck Lukmann. Chesterton was prepared to install 6-inch pipe without county money.
LGS is prepared to begin construction in 30 days. The project of installing the pipes is expected to take 270 days to complete, according to DVG, Inc., project engineer Jeff Ban.
LGS Plumbing expects to employ 10-15 workers throughout the duration of the job.
Consulting engineering firm DLZ was awarded a $187,960 contract for construction management and inspection. DLZ will be retained as full-time project managers for the duration of the project.
Lukmann told the commission that $2,000,000 raised from a bond issued to cover construction costs has been wired to the bank and requested that a manual check of approximately $58,000 to cover the cost of issuance of the bond be written when invoiced.
