Council approves contract for wastewater treatment plant upgrades

LOXLEY, Alabama — The Loxley Town Council approved a contract Monday, July 12 for part of a nearly $9.6 million project to make improvements to the town’s wastewater treatment plant.

Upon the recommendation of Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, that serves as project manager, the council awarded the contract for effluent outfall upgrades totaling nearly $4 million to Rob’t J. Baggett Inc. to be paid for with USDA Rural Development loan/grant funds.

On July 7, the town received two construction bids which were opened and read aloud during the bid opening. Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood Inc. tabulated and certified the bids received and recommended Rob’t J. Baggett Inc. as the lowest bidder in the amount of $3,988,735.

In March of 2019, the town was awarded a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the amount of $4.825 million and a grant in the amount of $4.723 million for “improvements to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and Sanitary Sewer Outfall.”

The town council voted in June of 2016 to approve preliminary and environmental improvements to the 12-year-old plant in preparation for a USDA grant/loan program.

Among the improvements include:

• Dredging of the equalization basins to allow for additional capacity.
• Expanding the wastewater plant to account for the additional capacity.
• Increasing the size of outfall lines to increases overflow capacity into nearby Fish River.
• Upgrading of electric motors and pumps to account for the additional capacity.

A USDA loan will then cover whatever amount is not covered by the grant.

According to the terms of the grant agreement, which was approved by the council at its April 2019 meeting, the USDA will pay nearly 50 percent (49.52) of the project costs, a total of $4,723,000, while the town will pay the remainder of the cost, $4,825,000.

The grant agreement requires the council to pass a resolution awarding the contract for the upgrades, which was passed unanimously at the July 12 meeting with all council members present.

In other business July 12 the council:

• Adopted an ordinance amending the town’s Zoning Ordinance to re-zone property located on North Holley Street from R-1A (residential-single family) to B-1 (general business district).
• Adopted an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance concerning parking requirements for residential structures.
• Agreed to place temporary stop signs at the corner of Second Avenue and Alabama Street for three months, changing the intersection from a two-way to a four-way stop at the request of local residents concerned over excessive speed in the area.
• Purchased a Diamond Sponsorship for the Central Baldwin Middle School volleyball and basketball teams for six years at a cost of $1,500.
• Purchased a full-page ad in Gulf Coast Media’s Back To School preview at a cost of $435; and a half-page ad in Gulf Coast Media’s Baldwin County Fair magazine at a cost of $295.
• Approved an amendment to a utility easement from Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Parish on U.S. 31 in Loxley.
• Purchased a Cannon EOS Rebel for the town’s public relations department.
• Approved a quote in the amount of $7,500 to replace the roof on the gazebo at Cedar Street Park.
• Approved a request to construct two offices in the auditorium at town hall with an estimated cost of $11,596.