H'burg Commission awards $9.36 million plant expansion

HARRODSBURG — With the City of Harrodsburg’s second consecutive packed house and TV cameras from Channel 6 on hand Monday night, the commission officially awarded a $9.36 million bid for a water treatment expansion to W. Rogers Company.
W. Rogers Company submitted its bid along with seven other companies vying for the job in mid-December. Prior to the opening of the bids, some estimates placed the price for the treatment expansion as high as $13 million.
GRW Engineers Inc. worked in conjunction with the City of Harrodsburg on determining which company to choose. GRW Project Manager Ryan Carr said in a letter to Mayor Lonnie Campbell that W. Rogers Company had worked with GRW Engineers on three previous projects.
“Based on their satisfactory performance on previous projects, and their capability to perform the required work, GRW recommends that the City of Harrosburg tentatively award the referenced project to the low bidder,” was the advice from Carr.
The three previous projects include a $4 million wastewater pumping station for Fayette County, a $4.2 million sewer agency expansion in Paducah and a new $3.24 million water treatment plant in western Kentucky.
The project will get started once it is approved by the USDA and the Department of Local Government. Those approvals are considered foregone conclusions, city clerk Kim Stinnett said.
Both Stinnett and Commissioner Marvin “Bubby” Isham were pleased that this project would go through without any expense to the taxpayers of Harrodsburg. The full cost is covered by USDA Rural Development and the Department of Local Government.

Commission looking for city attorney
Anyone seeking a part-time attorney’s job may wish to consult Mayor Eddie Long and his city commissioners. Long and the commission decided to seek a part-time instead of full-time city attorney — a move which, if successful, could save the city the extra costs associated with benefits for a full-time hire.
Asked if the part-time city attorney could eventually be moved to full-time, Long said it wouldn’t be unheard of.
Commissioner Charley Mattingly said city residents are more than welcome to contact him or any other commission member  to let them know what they think.
“There may be times we could make mistakes, but please realize, we’ll always try to make things right,” he said.
In other business, the commissioners received their department assignments.
Kerry Anness will oversee water and sewer, Scott Mosley will have police and telecommunications, Charlie Mattingly will handle streets and parks and Marvin “Bubby” Isham will take care of fire and sanitation.