PORT ANGELES — The three Clallam County commissioners are expected to take action on a $9.03 million construction contract for the Carlsborg sewer project when they meet this morning.
The commissioners will meet at 10 a.m. in Room 160 of the Clallam County Courthouse.
The sewer system will consist of a pump station along Carlsborg Road and pipes that will transport waste to an existing treatment plant in Sequim.
On March 1, the county received seven bids for construction with staff later recommending a contract be given to the lowest bidder: Pacific Civil & Infrastructure Inc., of Federal Way.
The company’s bid was $9,025,962.85 to complete the project. That is about $2 million under the project engineer’s estimate.
Funding for the project is provided for in the county’s fiscal year 2016 budget.
Clallam County secured a $10 million loan from the state Public Works Trust Fund to pay for the sewer. The loan has a remaining balance of about $9.46 million, according to Bob Martin, Clallam County Public Works administrative director.
The county has $1.67 million in a Carlsborg sewer fund, leaving $11.13 million available for the project.
The 30-year loan will be repaid from the Opportunity Fund at 0.25 percent interest. The interest rate will double if the system is not operational by April 1, 2017.
Clallam County will give the contractor 200 days to build the pump station and accompanying pipe system.
The system should be up and running no later than April 1 of next year, Martin said during the county commissioners’ work session Monday morning.
Pacific Civil & Infrastructure currently is a state registered and licensed contractor and appears to have the relevant qualifications and experience to successfully perform the work the project will require, said Nancy E. Lockett of Gray & Osborne, Inc., which has consulted with the county during the bidding process.
Clallam County has been planning for a sewer in Carlsborg since the late 1980s.
Failing septic systems have contributed to polluted groundwater in the loosely-soiled Dungeness Valley, county officials have said.
The Carlsborg Urban Growth Area is required to have a sewer under state law.
In 2008, the hamlet was found to be out of compliance with the Growth Management Act, and a subsequent order of invalidity prevented businesses from expanding.
Rather than build a treatment plant in Carlsborg, which was originally planned, the county agreed to pay the city of Sequim $1.3 million for about 20 years of capacity at the city treatment plant.
Under a 2014 interlocal agreement, the county will pay the city a 0.98-cent-per-gallon metered rate for operations and maintenance.
Carlsborg residents are not required to connect to the sewer immediately.
Those who do will receive a discount, as the $500 connection fee jumps to $1,500 after the pipes are installed and the roads are repaired.
Two years after the project is completed, the connection fee will jump again to $8,000.
Although commissioners have not yet adopted a rate ordinance, consultants have estimated that Carlsborg sewer customers will pay about $70 per month.
The commissioners are also expected today to consider a $731,705 Opportunity Fund grant to pay for a new air handler to reopen the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center.
A public hearing for consideration of the SARC grant will begin shortly after 10:30 a.m.
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Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
