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Item 1.C.
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| City Council Regular | |
| Date: | 12/13/2021 |
| Title: | Purchase of Fusible PVC Pipe |
| Presented by: | Debi Meling |
| Department: | Public Works |
| Presentation: | No |
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council approve the purchase of 4,050 feet of 8" DR 14 fusible PVC pipe to Aegion (Underground Solutions) in the amount of $144,787.50, including shipping and handling.
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
The Public Works Distribution and Collection Division has an annual program to pipe burst certain existing water mains in need of replacement. This process bursts or breaks the existing pipe and a new main is pulled through the old pipe that has been burst. This avoids open-cut trenching for the new water main. Public Works has been pipe bursting for a number of years and the process works very well. It is necessary to purchase 4,050 feet of 8" DR 14 fusible PVC water main pipe for this program. This pipe is supplied by Underground Solutions, Inc. They hold the patent on this fusible PVC pipe and the fusion technology utilized to join the pipe together.
The City of Billings is certified to install this pipe and has a license agreement to use this product. As such, it was necessary to obtain a price proposal from a sole source provider for the pipe rather than bidding out the material. The cost for pipe bursting is about one-third the cost for conventional construction and installation of the water mains.
The City of Billings is certified to install this pipe and has a license agreement to use this product. As such, it was necessary to obtain a price proposal from a sole source provider for the pipe rather than bidding out the material. The cost for pipe bursting is about one-third the cost for conventional construction and installation of the water mains.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may:
- Approve the purchase of the PVC pipe; or;
- Disapprove the pipe purchase. If not approved, the Public Works Department would be required to use open cut procedures rather than pipe bursting. This will increase the costs and cause increased disruption to the construction areas.
FISCAL EFFECTS
The cost for this pipe is $144,787.50 funded from the annual water replacement project approved in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and in the FY22 budget for the Public Works Department.