Lower Merion commissioners reject contract for pump station work

LOWER MERION — Lower Merion officials rejected the bids for work at a township pumping station after it came in three times higher than anticipated.

Adam Szumski, chief financial officer for Lower Merion Township, said the pump station sits behind Waverly Heights in Gladwyne.

The bids came in nearly three times the estimated $50,000 cost. Specifically, the total bid came in at $138,985, or $88,985 above the budgeted construction estimate.

“We find the total price bid of $138,985, which is more than double the $50,000 estimate, to be unreasonable for the items of work required,” according to the engineering memorandum. “Our estimate was prepared by using nationally accepted estimating standards and local knowledge of construction costs of similar projects. Very large electrical projects that have recently been commissioned in the tri-state area may be significantly impacting costs; therefore, we recommend not awarding this Contract at this time and rebidding at another time. Prior to rebidding, we will review the scope of the electrical work for possible modifications and will consult with Township Staff to determine if any of the work can be performed in-house.”

Township officials said they will rebid the project and possibly do some of the work in-house.

“The plan, if rejected, is to rebid this later in the year with the electrical work as an ad alternate because, in speaking with staff and as staff looked at this, the electrical work is rather straightforward, and we do feel we can potentially do it with in-house forces,” Szumski said.

Township officials said the project consisted of installing new ventilation fans, along with the associated ductwork and electrical connections, for both the wet and dry wells.

“Additional work for the dry well ventilation improvements includes replacing the existing window with a louver for supply air and providing a new path for the exhaust duct through the first-floor slab. The original dry well ductwork currently routed underground on the exterior of the building, eventually failed and the opening was infilled with concrete. The new duct routing for this project extends the existing ductwork within the building, eliminating the need for ductwork outside the building footprint,” according to the memorandum from the township engineer.

The project was discussed by the commissioners at the January Lower Merion Finance Committee meeting and then approved at the January meeting a week later.