Cloverdale set for stormwater project bid

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CLOVERDALE — Following a need to adjust the scope, leaders in Cloverdale are ready for a new bid for a project to address stormwater improvements.

Meeting with HWC Engineering’s Eric Smith and grant administrator Mike Kleinpeter, the Cloverdale Town Council conducted a hearing on Tuesday to go over the scope as it has been amended.

Last year, the town was awarded a $600,000 grant from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) for the project. The town’s stormwater board in turn pledged to make up the difference.

The grant set out the original scope for multiple street areas, notably Stardust Hills and Doe Creek Drive. However, bids from two advertisements came over the $753,230 budgeted. The work entailed new piping, riprap and road rehabilitation.

Seeing in March that it had to be done to come under budget, OCRA approved the town resubmitting the scope.

Apart from a “challenging” bidding climate, Smith noted that the project’s design has been fluid. He referenced having to do sewers instead of ditches in some areas while adding elements to others.

When the project went out for re-bid, Smith and the town determined which areas would be the most crucial. These were separated into eight “divisions.”

The priorities were definitely Stardust Hills (including Stardust Way itself), Lazy River Road, Market Street and South Doe Creek. While a block of the business district was also kept, the work for Water and West streets was taken out.

“It still offered a community-wide benefit, ’cause we’re hitting areas throughout town,” Smith said. “In the areas that we took out, we’re still improving that side of town with some of the improvements we’re doing.”

Smith provided that work could be added for a portion of County Road 925 South, this being Stardust Road east from C Bar C Expo Center. This is while it is not part of the grant.

“Things are coming down; we’ve adjusted this now twice,” Council Vice President Brice Howell queried about paring the project down before the original scope. “Why are we so far off on numbers?”

“The biggest reason is we added scope to a lot of these areas from the original,” Smith said. He emphasized drainage in Stardust Hills as being “a big chunk.”

Ultimately, All American Express Solutions, Indianapolis, came in as the lowest bidder, with its project cost set at $745,389.96.

A resolution was adopted for Council President Brandon Tancak to sign off on acknowledging the modification, specifically as to eliminating Water and West streets.

While Town Attorney Richard Shagley and councilmen Greg Jay and Scott Stierwalt were absent, Clerk-Treasurer Kelly Maners, Town Manager Jason Hartman and Councilman Larry Fidler attended.

The council will officially accept All American’s bid at its regular meeting next Tuesday.