TORRINGTON – The Torrington City Council convened for its first April meeting on April 4 at the Torrington Council Chambers. Mayor Herb Doby was present with council members Richard Patterson, Dennis Kelly, Wayne Deahl and Shane Viktorin.

During the meeting, Director of Public Works Jeff Harkins presented the winning bid for the city’s wastewater pre-treatment facility project. The winning bid was Rice Lake West of Golden, Colorado in the amount of $7,940,000 with a reserve of $460,000 for a project total of $8,400,000.

“This project will consist of the construction of a pretreatment headworks facility ahead of the existing lift station and includes a mechanical bar screen, backup manual bar screen, a fine screen/grit removal system, a new bypass lift station, new electrical control and instrumentation, truck receiving station, restroom addition to the existing building, a metal building and approximately 520 linear feet of eight-inch waterline connecting the facility to the city’s water system,” Harkins explained.

Harkins said the funding for this project comes from the money the city was granted through the SRF loan and ARPA grants. The city was granted a total amount of $4,250,000, leaving a total project balance of $3,690,000 to be covered by the loan. 

According to Harkins, the bid was opened on March 8 and at that time two contractors submitted bids. The two contractors were Rice Lake West of Golden, Colorado and JR Civil of Casper. Since the city considers this a significant and high-dollar project, they set minimum qualification requirements as a part of the bid package. During the review of the bid packages, it was determined that JR Civil did not fulfill the minimum qualifications established by the city.

“As a part of our bidding evaluation, we called for references for both bidders and we confirmed the Clean Water State Revolving Fund requirements for both bidders,” Michelle Sell, professional engineer for TriHyrdo Corporation, said. “As a part of those qualifications, specific items that were requested to be submitted included providing a resume for the project manager and project superintendent as well as providing information related to knowing significant experience related to wastewater treatment plants, including the construction of reinforced concrete water and retaining structures, installation of similar mechanical equipment and projects including installation of SCADA systems.”

Sell said that while both bidders had favorable recommendations and references, JR Civil did not include a resume for their project superintendent and did not show that they had experience with the specific type of work involved in this project. She also explained that while they did contact JR Civil to discuss the shortcomings of their package, they did not request more information in order to keep the bidding process fair.

“We stand by our recommendation to award the project to Rice Lake West,” Harkins said. “We did a thorough evaluation of the projects that were submitted by both companies and Rice Lake West clearly demonstrated work of a similar type; we don’t feel like JR Civil did the same. The fact that they did not submit a resume for a superintendent is really concerning since the superintendent is basically going to be the individual overseeing the job.”

Ray Martin, a civil litigation lawyer from Cheyenne was present at the meeting to represent JR Civil. Martin expressed the company’s dissatisfaction with the bidding process and said that they were unaware that failing to provide the resume of the superintendent would make them lose the project. 

Martin said the company’s reasoning for withholding the resume was that they are uncertain which one of their superintendents would be on the job at this time. To their knowledge, Rice Lake West did not attend the mandatory pre-bid meeting, which should have disqualified them from the bidding process. In their opinion, their company and their subcontractors are highly qualified and would be able to successfully complete the project. 

“State statute [gives preference to Wyoming contractors and Wyoming subcontractors], that is done so you keep taxpayer money within the state,” Martin said. “Here you have a very sizable project and JR has done comparable projects, granted not pretreatment headworks per se, but that’s not exotic stuff.”

Martin requested the council to refrain from approving the bid at this time and allow JR Civil to fulfill the last of the requirements of the bid. After which the council could award the bid to the lower-priced bid, a similarly qualified company and the local contractor.

In response, Harkins explained that Rice Lake West had undergone a name change during the bidding process, which is why it appeared the company was not present at the pre-bid meeting. The original name is recorded in the city’s paperwork. 

Harkins also said that he disagrees with Martin’s experience statement that the project does not require specific experience. The pretreatment headwork is a difficult process and needs to be done right the first time or it will require expensive repairs. In Harkins’ professional opinion, Rice Lake West is better qualified for the job. 

The council unanimously approved the bid to Rice Lake West.

At the meeting, Chief of Police Matt Johnson honored the city of Torrington’s communication officers in observance of Public Safety Telecommunication Week, which is from April 9 to 15. 

“We want to recognize our communications team for the amazing work that they do to keep our community safe because it’s pretty amazing,” Johnson said. “These folks are the first line of defense for our community and a voice of calm and kindness when help is desperately needed.”

Johnson explained that the city’s communication officers handle all of the public safety communications for Goshen County, this includes nine volunteer fire departments, four law enforcement agencies and four EMS services.

“Every single person who calls 911 for help in our county talks to one of the folks standing in front of you this evening,” Johnson continued. “Last year, that included 2,523 calls for help or just under sever per day.”

The communication officers present at the meeting were Teri Shinost, Tammy Cearns, Brenda Miller, Heather Kraus, Michael Harkins, Bailye Goulart and Hillary McNees.

City Clerk and Treasurer Lynette Strecker presented the winning bid for a new articulating telescoping aerial truck. The winning bid was Alec Industries, Inc. of Creedmoor, North Carolina in the amount of $217,176. The expected delivery of the unit is 27 to 30 months from the award date.

Electrical Supervisor Dana Youtz explained that both of the city’s diggers and all three trucks were purchased from Alec Industries, and they have had a positive experience with them. In order to keep delivery lower, the truck is stock without any special packages. They will add the necessary features after the truck is delivered. 

The council approved the bid.

Harkins presented Dean McClain’s request to build a new private hangar at 2000 East 20th Avenue Suite F-1. Harkins showed the council the plans for the hangar and discussed the details of the construction.

“Mr. McClain is taking advantage of the [new ground lease rentals at the airport] and what is presented in these drawings is what he proposes to construct up at the airport,” Harkins said. “He met with the airport board and showed them the same exact thing as what you’re seeing now and they voted unanimously in support of his project.”

McClain explained that he chose this location because it faces east and is one of the closest to the pavement. The hangar will be large enough to hold at least two airplanes, possibly three if one was a project. 

The council unanimously approved the request.

City Attorney James Eddington presented David Dent’s, the city’s golf pro, request to enter into an agreement between the city of Torrington and GolfNow. 

Eddington explained that GolfNow is an online tool used to reserve tee times. This agreement is a two-year, un-cancelable agreement with no out-of-pocket expense. In trade for free advertising and a website, the site will reserve the withhold the revenue from any 11 a.m. tee times scheduled.

The council approved the agreement.

Eddington read a proclamation to designate April as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month. 

“Whereas children are our future, no child should suffer abuse and neglect,” Eddington read. “Whereas victims of child abuse and neglect are known to be at higher risk for experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, low academic achievement, drug use, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy and adult criminality, every child is precious and deserves to group up in a healthy, safe, nurturing environment free from harmful effects of abuse and neglect.”

The council unanimously approved the proclamation.

The council approved a catering permit for Julie Miller-Harshberger with the 307 Sports Bar and Grill. The permit is for a Community College Commission event to be held on April 20 from 5 to 11 p.m. at the ATEC building on the Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) campus.

Eddington read the ordinance on repealing section 13.24.030 relating to deposits. 

During the first reading on March 7, Strecker explained that this ordinance was missed when they made an update in 2017, so now there are two conflicting policies for deposits. Upon this realization, they would like to remove this section and leave the updated version.

The council unanimously approved the third and final reading relating to repealing section 13.24.030. 

During the mayoral informational part of the meeting, Doby gave updates on the city and thanked the streets and sanitation department and city employees for their work to clear roadways, sidewalks and parking lots.

Doby also announced the KGOS/KERM annual Easter Egg Hunt for children ages one through 10. The hunt will be on Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m. at Pioneer Park in Torrington.

The council adjourned its regular session before entering an executive session to discuss litigation.

The next meeting of the Torrington City Council will take place Tuesday, April 18 at 7 p.m. in the Torrington City Council Chambers at 436 East 22nd Avenue.