The W.O. 11-16 Wastewater Treatment Plant Digester Cleaning project will clean the two primary digesters and one secondary digester at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Cleaning the digesters is required every 5 to 7 years to remove contents that cannot be digested. Existing valves and piping will also be inspected. The last digester cleaning was in 2005. The project was advertised on May 10th, 17th, and 24th in the Billings Times and on the City's website. Bids were opened May 29th, 2012 and three bids were received. Parker Ag Services, LLC submitted the lowest responsible bid.

 The Council may:

• Award W.O. 11-16 to Parker Ag Services, LLC in the amount of $181,200.00; or
• Not award the contract to Parker Ag Services, LLC and reject all bids.  If this project is not constructed, required maintenance will not be performed and the digesters will continue to accumulate non-digestible solids, leading to operating problems.

 The following bids were received and evaluated:

Contractor	Base Bid
Parker Ag Services, LLC	$181,200.00
Merrell Bros.	$695,988.00*
Golden Enviro LLC	$211,924.00

*The bid for Merrell Bros. contained unit price errors that when extended to the total price, resulted in a bid that is much higher than the others.  Without the bid irregularity, the Merrell Bros. bid was not the low bid.

The funding for the project was budgeted in FY12 out of Operations and Maintenance for the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Staff recommends the City Council award a contract for W.O. 11-16 to Parker Ag Services, LLC in the amount of $181,200.00.