The special meeting of the Chesterton Redevelopment Commission called for 6 p.m. Monday, July 30—for the purpose of awarding the contract for the Ind. 49 Utility Corridor project—has been canceled.

It will be re-scheduled sometime next week, Town Attorney Chuck Lukmann told the Chesterton Tribune after deadline on Wednesday.

In fact, the commission cannot award the contract until the Porter County Council has decided whether it wants to partner with the town. The County Council is scheduled to hold a final vote on the matter at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

If the County Council does authorize an expenditure of $742,409 for the so-called Alternate 1—under which the sanitary sewer infrastructure will be upsized to serve unincorporated Liberty Township—then LGS Plumbing Inc. of Crown Point will be awarded the contract. Its total bid—base plus Alternate 1—was $2,880,865. The next lowest total bid was $2,938,716.70, submitted by Grimmer Construction Inc. of Highland.

If, however, the County Council opts not to pursue a partnership with the town, then Grimmer will be awarded the contract. Grimmer’s base bid: $2,135,829. The next lowest base bid was $2,138,456, submitted by LGS.

Meanwhile, bids for the $2 million bond issue—to finance the project—were opened on Wednesday, Lukmann said, with the low bid a “highly favorable” interest rate of 3.53 percent over the life of the bonds. “Everyone’s very happy about that.”

Debt service on the issue would total $564,241, with the final payment made in February 2028.

Posted 7/26/2012