By Martin Couch
Open bid will begin to be taken by the City of Bryant on construction for stormwater drainage improvements for the Forest Cove area of Bryant.
"Two advertising periods on this Forest Cove grant have been made and there have been[more] six bidders that I am aware of," said Bryant City Engineer Richard Penn.
The updates to the progress of the project states that a pre-bid conference was held on Dec. 2. The bid period closes at 2 p.m. on Dec. 16 with bid opening to follow immediately at City Hall. FTN Associates will prepare a certified bid list and identify an apparent qualified low bidder.
The grant includes the cost of box culverts and specifics that the city will purchase directly from supplier, according to existing annual bid.
"There was a purchase order to hold the price through March 31, but that's not an issue because we received a letter from the supplier that they were willing to wait," Penn said.
A grant application for improvements to the stream section from Forest Drive to Ashlea Place and for Henson Place south to Highway 5 is awaiting action from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)."There's not information other than it is at FEMA," Penn added.
Penn also reported that the Street Department performed routine maintenance on the creek to remove debris both upstream of the Boswell Road culvert crossing and downstream.
"There was a significant amount of maintenance done," he said. "We think we are ready for the winter, but it's an ongoing thing."
Penn moved to the report on stormwater drainage improvements for the Meadowlake and Crooked Creek areas.
"Construction efforts to remove the debris and level the ground is all done and grass is growing, which was sufficient for ADEQ (Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality) to terminate our permit and that's a good thing," Penn said. "We are still making our reports to the Arkansas Corp of Engineers, because we are not finished. We are stable and the Corp will assist us in what to do next."
Alderman Brenda Miller asked Penn when construction would start after the Dec. 16 bids were in.
"Part of our match is for the city to do some of the demolition work on the crossing that is there," Penn said. "We could begin that in mid-January with anticipation of a low-bid being approved. We need to get Council's approval and the earlier it's approved the earlier we can get started. I would say it would take them at least a day to go through those bids, so I can't see it being ready until Dec. 17."
Alderman Chris Tipton asked if it would be available for review on Dec. 21 and action be taken to get this project started.
The overall consensus from the Council was to get started as soon as possible, but there was no indication of a specific meeting to be called to take action this month.
