Atlanta Company apparent low bidder for project
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on January 20, 2006 1:46 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- An Atlanta contractor is the apparent low bidder for a project to build a sewer plant for the town of Mount Olive.
The consultants who opened the five bids Thursday at the Mount Olive Town Hall told town officials that Choate Construction Co. submitted a $10.1 million base bid. The second lowest bid was $10.5 million by Seaside Utilities of Myrtle Beach.
Bids are not official until they have been tabulated and certified. After the bids have been reviewed, consulting engineers with Hobbs Upchurch and Associates will present a recommendation to the Mount Olive Town Board of Commissioners. Commissioners will then decide who gets the job.
Engineer Joe McGoughan said Choate is a familiar contractor in the Wayne County area. He said he would have had no problem recommending any of the five bidders for the job. The other three bidders were T.A. Loving Co. of Goldsboro, Turner Murphy Co. of Rock Hill, S.C., and Seaside Utilities of Myrtle Beach.
"It's good to have the bids in hand," McGoughan said.
Town Manager Ray McDonald said all five bidders are reputable companies.
"This has been a long time coming," McDonald said. "We'll be building before fall."
The town has been developing plans for a regional sewer system since 2000. In 2003, voters in the town approved the sale of $5 million in bonds to help pay for the system's construction. The state has contributed $3 million and the federal government has said it will provide a $4 million grant.
"It's taken us five years to get to this, but now we're here," McDonald said.