Ahoskie WWTP project begins
Published 1:58 pm Tuesday, May 19, 2009
AHOSKIE – The long anticipated expansion to Ahoskie’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) took a giant leap forward last week.
At their May 12 meeting, the Ahoskie Town Council approved the issuance of up to $9,464,000 in a General Obligation Wastewater Bond at an interest rate that shall not exceed 5.5 percent.
In a related matter, council members approved, as part of their consent agenda, two contracts for the WWTP project.
TA Loving Company of Goldsboro was the low bidder for the general construction of the overall $17.87 million project.
Loving’s base bid of $12,348,000 for general construction of the project was the lowest among nine companies to submit bids. All totaled, four North Carolina construction companies submitted bids. The others came from Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina and Florida.
Meanwhile, another North Carolina company – Utilities Plus of Linden – was the low bidder for the effluent force main portion of the project. Of the 12 companies to submit bids, Utilities Plus was the lowest with their $228,228.45 proposal. They beat out 10 other North Carolina companies and one from Tennessee.
Each of the low bidders is properly licensed to perform the work in accordance with Chapter 87 of the North Carolina General Statutes.
In addition to the wastewater bond funding, the town will pay for this project with nearly one-half million dollars of its own up-front money; $1 million grants each from USDA-Rural Development and the North Carolina Rural Center; a $3 million grant from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund; $2.37 million from a loan increase (from a 2007 Bond Referendum) from USDA-Rural Development; a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $250,908; and a $325,000 tap fee from the Town of Powellsville.
The Powellsville portion of the project has yet to be finalized. The municipal governments from each town have been engaged in discussions for an extended period of time since Powellsville first became interested in a project that would use Ahoskie’s WWTP to treat and dispose of its sewage.
