The Cambridge Village Board unanimously accepted Mid City Engineering’s low bid of $4.84 million for the Well #3 Project at the Jan. 10 board meeting.
The Well #3 project will fix Well #3 in Cambridge to bring it up to Wisconsin State code.
“This is a project that’s been mandated by the state of Wisconsin,” Board President Mark McNally said. “We have to go ahead and upgrade Well #3. The lowest bidder was accepted after recommendation from the water and sewer committee.”
According to McNally, the village asked the state for more time after being told it needed to upgrade, but at this time the state has required them to go through with the project now.
“We have no choice in the matter,” McNally said. “This is something we have to do and we have to do it now.”
As Village President, McNally received a quote estimate last year at $2.75 million for the project. He was disappointed to find out that the latest estimate nearly doubled that.
“I can only speculate that it has to deal with all the increased costs we’ve seen over the last couple years from COVID-19,” McNally said. “We are fortunately substantially below what municipalities are allowed in debt.”
He announced that the village might possibly be pursuing a referendum in order to borrow the money for the project. The village is waiting for its financial consultant, Ehlers, to come back with a pre-assessment and then the village would seek partnership with a financial institution for the bonds.
McNally added that since the village rarely ever seeks a bonding referendum, the village may look to add a couple of smaller items to the list. These possibilities include addressing equipment needs and fluoride. The total bonding referendum cost would likely be $5-6 million.
“We haven’t made up our minds what we could throw in there because we don’t do bonding referendums often,” McNally said. “We need to consider what else we need within this, so we are not neglecting any required infrastructure cost.”
McNally hopes the well project will start by June, but doesn’t know the exact time frame for how long it will take.
“The board remains steadfast in its goal to ensure that this is done in a financially prudent manner as possible,” McNally said.
With Well #3 not up to standards and Well #1 being permanently disabled, the village will temporarily rely solely on Well #2.
“This project ensures that we are going to have wells that work,” McNally said. “Residents won’t be vulnerable with only one well. It will enhance the supply of water in the Cambridge Village.”
