Kleinfelder Kleinfelder engineering firm accepted bids inside council chambers for water and sanitary infrastructure improvements on Oct. 30. Shown are, from left, Port Clinton Special Projects Coordinator, Doug Nusser; Kleinfelder Project Manager Bennett Norley; Kleinfelder Licensed Professional Engineer, Steven Lange; Kleinfelder Project Administrator Benjamin Black; and Port Clinton Mayor Mike Snider. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

PORT CLINTON – Port Clinton took one more big step toward completing the city’s Forward Looking Infrastructure Project (FLIP) when representatives from Kleinfelder engineering firm accepted bids inside council chambers for water and sanitary infrastructure improvements on Oct. 30. FLIP has two components: Infrastructure A – the above-ground work of road paving, and Infrastructure B – the below-ground work of sanitary, storm, and sewer line installation.

The Oct. 30 meeting accepted bids for FLIP’s largest Infrastructure B water and sewer projects. Once the projects are complete, roads that will be disturbed by the water and sewer work can be repaved.

Kleinfelder accepted bids for Contract A, which encompasses water improvements and has an engineer’s estimate of $12,618,000; Contract B, which encompasses sewer improvements and has an engineer’s estimate of $15,111,000; and a combined project contract, which has an engineer’s estimate of $27,729,000. Four contractors submitted bids for one or more contracts.

Kleinfelder representatives who attended the meeting were Project Manager Bennett Norley, Project Administrator Benjamin Black, and Licensed Professional Engineer Steven Lange. Kleinfelder will review the bids, research contractor feasibility, and make a recommendation. The city will draft a resolution approving the recommendation, if they concur, and Kleinfelder will submit their research and recommendation and the city’s resolution to the Ohio EPA for approval by a Nov. 6 deadline.

Because the water and sewer project is tied to various state and federal funding sources, many differing specifications must be met to align with each funding agency. Kleinfelder must ensure that their recommended contractor can meet those requirements.

Port Clinton Special Projects Coordinator, Doug Nusser, left, and Kleinfelder Project Manager Bennett Norley, center, listen as Kleinfelder Project Administrator Benjamin Black reads contractor bids inside council chambers for the water and sewer improvement project that will begin in Port Clinton next year. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“There are a lot of different government funding sources for this,” Norley said. “Two of the biggest are the USDA and the EPA – both state and federal.”

The OEPA has until Dec. 10 to approve or reject the recommendation.

If the OEPA grants approval, the approved contractor will receive an agreement to sign in mid-January.

“Shovels in the ground could happen as early as when the ground thaws next year. Then there will be about 18 months of construction,” Norley said. “When it is finished, more resurfacing projects can be completed.”

The sewer and water project has created the biggest barrier to the road resurfacing project. Nearly 50 roads in Port Clinton have already been paved, but others that will be disturbed by the water and sewer project were necessarily placed on hold. The water and sewer project was delayed many times by changes in funding, by the process of acquiring new funding opportunities, and by covid interruptions that created workforce, communication, and supply chain issues across the country.

Now, Port Clinton should have a clear answer and a set roadmap, so to speak, for the bright future of FLIP. The government funding and bureaucracy obstacles that have tied the hands of city leadership is about to be loosened, and local residents can look forward to a city that will be better than ever.

“2,759 days ago, five of us sat in a room and talked about the infrastructure needs and how to bring the city up to baseline,” said Port Clinton Mayor Mike Snider. “Although 1/3 of the streets in the city have already been paved, this portion, Plan B, is the one everyone’s been waiting for. We’ve just taken one giant leap, and that feels really good.”