Jackson aldermen OK spending nearly $110,000 extra for water-system upgrades

The Jackson Board of Aldermen passed a motion Monday approving a $109,868 expenditure increase under the water-system facility upgrade.

Horner & Shifrin Inc. of St. Louis is the main contractor on the project on West Main Street in Jackson, and it said delays by subcontractor Robertson Inc. Bridge and Grading Division of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, have caused the project to go over budget, according to a Feb. 13 memo from project manager Lisa Fennewald.

On Feb. 6, Jim McCleish, vice president of Horner & Shifrin, told the board of aldermen the delays were caused by mismanagement and inefficiency of crews provided by Robertson. City engineer Erica Bogenpohl said the original expected project completion date was March 16.

After the delays, the projected date of substantial completion is April 18, with final cleanup completed May 2.

To increase work speed, additional crews were brought in, which required additional inspection services. Koehler Engineering and Strickland Engineering, both of Jackson, each have agreed to provide a crew at a slightly reduced rate for this phase of construction.

Inspectors for these crews will be provided by the city, Bogenpohl said at the Feb. 6 meeting, which will help reduce overall costs.

Alderwoman Wanda Young cast the lone dissenting vote.

Bid rejections

Aldermen rejected all bids for tree trimming around electric utilities in Jackson.

Electric utilities director Don Schuette said six bid packets were sent to qualifying contractors, and only one packet was returned by the Feb. 13 due date.

That packet, from Floyd and Sons Tree Service of Cape Girardeau, was judged incomplete and disqualified, Schuette said.

The city plans to re-evaluate its bidding process, city administrator Jim Roach said.

Hosted services program

The board approved $5,000 paid annually to Horner & Shifrin Inc. to provide engineering services under the annual geographic information system hosted services program.

Services include hosting the city's existing geographic information system, identifying engineering needs, hosting web-based applications and creating password protections.

Wastewater treatment plant upgrade

The board approved $19,280 to Blakely and Associates Consulting Engineers of Chillicothe, Missouri, for the first phase of a wastewater treatment project.

Blakely and Associates are working to install control equipment and a monitoring computer to run a supervisory control and data acquisition system in Jackson's wastewater-treatment plant.

According to a Jan. 26 letter from wastewater utilities director Kent Peetz, similar systems already are in place in Jackson's electric system and drinking-water treatment facility.

Budget

An ordinance amending the 2017 Jackson budget was approved.

Liquor license

Jackson Deli & BBQ LLC at 415 W. Main St. received approval of its application for a liquor license.

The business will be able to sell beer by the drink or packaged, and light wines up to 5 percent alcohol.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address: 101 Court St., Jackson, Mo.

415 W. Main St., Jackson, Mo.