Deputy City Manager Christophe Bauer told the Rowlett City Council on Oct. 21 that the city needs to add a pump at the Rowlett Road pump station to address low water pressure and to support additional growth. The council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing award of Bid No. 2025-167-B to Felix Construction Company for a price not to exceed $1,570,547 (base contract $1,427,770 plus a 10 percent contingency of $142,777). Council member Shoop moved to approve the resolution; Council member Bowers seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

The project is a rebid. "This is the second time we've bid this project," Christophe Bauer said, noting the city's initial planning estimate was about $1.1 million and that the second bid came in significantly higher. He said the city attempted to solicit additional vendors and update pricing but received only a single responsive bid.

Why this matters: the addition is intended to raise pressure in the city’s upper pressure plane where growth has begun to affect service. Bauer said the new pump and associated piping will be installed at the Rowlett Road pump station and that the city is reallocating funds from another project to cover the price gap; staff said they will present a revised capital-improvement program (CIP) for council consideration later this year.

Council members pressed staff on procurement and cost drivers. Bauer and other staff said pump equipment has become more expensive and harder to source. Staff also described a practical limit on repeated rebidding under state procurement rules and said the city did not see a legal path to reject the second bid and rebid again. A city official added that past vendor experiences with the city have created a perception problem that has reduced vendor responsiveness in the utility construction market.

The contract includes a 10 percent contingency to address unknown site conditions such as unforeseen pipe connections or other discovered conditions that may arise during construction. Bauer said the project is too large to perform in-house and that purchasing had worked to attract bidders before the rebid.

The council approved the resolution and authorized the mayor or his designee to execute the contract and related documents. Staff will return with CIP reprioritization and additional project updates later this year.

Provenance (transcript evidence):
"Okay. Mayor and council. So we're here to talk about adding a pump to our pump station on Rolled Road." (transcript block starting at 1486.79)
"And that item carries unanimously." (transcript block starting at 1990.8251)

Speakers cited: Deputy City Manager Christophe Bauer (presenter); Council member Shoop (mover); Council member Bowers (seconder).