Bundled water main projects draw discussion at Albany Utility Board meeting

ALBANY — Albany City Utility Board members approved more than $400,000 in water main replacement projects Thursday but not before discussing the city’s strategy of bundling multiple infrastructure projects under a single competitive bid.

The board approved three contracts totaling about $416,000 for water main replacements on Tift Avenue, South Davis Street, and Pine and Central avenues. City staff said the projects were grouped under one bid reference in an effort to attract more contractors and increase competition.

“When you bundle three projects together, you attract more competition,” Water Systems Manager David Apperson told the board. “We received five bids, and this is the third time we’ve used this process.”

Although the projects were advertised together, each section was evaluated and awarded separately to the lowest bidder. Contractors were allowed to bid on one, two or all three projects.

City officials said bundling projects can reduce administrative barriers by allowing contractors to attend a single pre-bid meeting and submit proposals for multiple jobs at once.

The work is part of the city’s ongoing five-year infrastructure plan aimed at replacing aging water lines throughout Albany. Officials said the city maintains roughly 700 miles of water main and continues working to eliminate remaining 2-inch galvanized lines, which can restrict water flow, frequently leak and limit fire protection capacity.

Replacing those smaller lines with 6-inch mains is expected to improve water pressure, increase system capacity and modernize aging infrastructure.

Board members also stressed the importance of coordinating underground utility work with other downtown improvement efforts to avoid damaging newly completed streetscape projects.

The board approved the following contracts:

• $101,900 to H2O Techs LLC of Albany for replacement of about 1,200 feet of water main along the 2100 block of Tift Avenue.
• $135,496 to HTS Construction of Albany for about 1,500 feet of replacement along the 800 through 1100 blocks of South Davis Street.
• $178,746 to HTS Construction for about 2,200 feet of replacement in the 100 and 200 blocks of Pine and Central avenues.

In other business, the board approved a $62,400 contract with i3 Milestone of Nashville, Tenn., for annual maintenance and hosting of the city’s utility billing and customer payment portal. The company is affiliated with i3 Verticals, a technology firm that develops payment and software systems for public-sector agencies.

Board members also voted to recommend two contracts to the Albany City Commission for final approval: a $274,752 agreement with One Source Power LLC of Boston for copper electrical line replacement and a $596,543.79 contract with Alarms Etc. of Leesburg to install security cameras at critical utility facilities.

City officials said the camera installations are part of a broader effort to protect infrastructure assets following recent incidents of vandalism and copper theft.

The meeting concluded with a report that early morning storms temporarily knocked out power to about 5,500 Albany utility customers. Crews worked through the morning to restore service.