New Palestine Town Council President Teri Reed
NEW PALESTINE — Bids to construct and renovate the New Palestine Waste Water Treatment plant are in. The bids are important because they will determine the sewer rates for customers, and those rates are project to increase substantially.
Four members of the Town of New Palestine Council president Teri Reed, secretary Chad Molinder and council members Ryan Hartley and Ethan Maple gathered along with their engineering officials Wednesday to open the bids.
Heading into the meeting, town officials noted the total construction work could cost a projection of anywhere from $21.4 to $25 million. All the bids presented came in higher or within that projection. Town officials noted in previous meetings that rates could be expected to go from $72 to $97.15 by Nov. 1, and then as high as $140.87 in 2026 depending on the bids.
Four different bids were received by Common Wealth Engineering, the engineering firm overseeing the project for the town. The bids came from F.A. Wilhelm Construction, $26,199,000; Graves Plumbing, $26,626,262; Kokosing Industrial Inc., $25,119,000; and Thieneman Construction, $23,354,000.
While the council did not make a decision on which company they will go with to do the massive project, and don’t plan to do so until a special council meeting set for 6 p.m. Monday at the New Palestine Town Hall, most towns and municipalities tend to go with the lowest bidder. However, officials from Common Wealth Engineering advised the council to take the next few days and look over each proposed bid and the reason behind the pricing before determining which one is best for the town and the residents.
In previous council meetings, the council has discussed the need for the project due to the current wastewater treatment plant being near full capacity. Plus, the council preliminary selected a 20-year level plan for the project with proposed sewer costs per month at the max for citizens so the town could pay off the project as quickly as possible.
The town is still paying for the most recent waste water treatment plant project from a few years ago and will be paying it off for the next several years.
In 2019, the town spent $4.2 million to expand its sewer plant, raising customers’ rates to pay for it. At the time, town officials said the expansion would accommodate growth for years. However, due to community growth and flow levels in the area, the facility was operating near capacity on the day it opened. That has caused the need for the major construction project now that if town officials don’t do run the risk of the state taking over the facility.
While town officials say they have tried to keep the community abreast of the situation and have noted town officials have been talking about the need for the project since 2021, many community residents informed the council during a recent meeting they’re shocked to learn about the massive rate increase.
It was during that meeting Reed told residents the topic had been discussed by the previous council, who elected not to tackle the subject. That council instead passed the project onto the new council where four of the five current members only started in January.
Reed tried to assure community residents who attended a council meeting last week that the rates they presented were only a worst-case scenario until the bids came back. However, all the bids but one did come back higher than construction projections.
Reed would not discuss what happens to proposed rates now that the bids are in but did say the council will have more answers during the Monday, Oct. 28 when the best bid is officially selected.
