The city has begun plans on extending sewer lines to Lakeside Station and Park Road.
Adam Myers, with Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp., said that the sewer extension project will provide an estimated 200 direct new jobs.
The city expects to see a payback for the project over the next four years. Over 10 years, the estimated net benefit to the city is projected to be $3,944,679.
The project will use $720,000 from the County Line Road Utility Extension project. Commissioners voted Monday, Oct. 26, to transfer the funds after the County Line Road project came in under budget.
The sewer extension plan for Lakeside Station and Park Road calls for a sewage force main to be installed from Henderson Way to the south side of Coronet Road. The force main will run through Lakeside Station.
“We’re getting a lot of activity on County Line Road as well as Park Road,” Mayor Rick Lott said. “When you have property that has this type of opportunity … we don’t want to miss it.”
The new water main will serve Coronet Road and future businesses that choose to locate to the Lakeside Station and Park Road areas, such as QGS Development Inc., a site development and golf course contracting company that is in the design phases of building a 16,000-square-foot office building on Park Road.
“This continues the City Commission’s investment in economic hotspots around our city,” City Manager Mike Herr said. “This investment in infrastructure is one of the main ingredients we have to have in order to be competitive in the economic development arena.”
The pipeline, which will be one foot in diameter, is to be installed before February 2016.
The project was awarded to E.T. MacKenzie of Florida, and the force main will run parallel to a water main that runs from Henderson Way to Plant City Stadium.
The new project also calls for a redesign of over half of the reclaimed water main.
The design cost for the Park Road sewage force main is $36,830, and the design cost for the Park Road reclaimed water main is $66,750.
SNOWDEN PARK
The City Commission accepted a bid and awarded a contract to Certus Builders Inc., a Tampa-based company, for the upcoming Snowden Park renovations.
Former Plant City mayor Randy Larson’s company, R. Larson Company, was set to be awarded the contract, but Certus Builders contested on four points.
Although R. Larson Company had the lowest bid for the project at $785,215, it failed to provide a photocopy of a license and opted for an exemption for a workers’ compensation certificate of insurance. Additionally, R. Larson Company failed to provide three references of similar projects within the last 10 years.
The City of Plant City also failed to issue a notice of intend to award the project to R. Larson Company prior to making the notice.
“We rescinded our previous decision and awarded (the bid) to Certus,” City Manager Mike Herr said.
Sharon Sumner, the chief financial officer at Certus Builders, said that Larson’s previous experience with the city as a former mayor was not an issue.
“Past history doesn’t matter to us,” Sumner said. “It was mainly just meeting the requirements of what was requested for the proposal.”
Certus Builders’ total bid for the Snowden Park project was $792,400.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
IN OTHER NEWS
Code Enforcement Manager Tray Towles gave a presentation at the City Commission meeting regarding the home located at 608 W. Lee St. The home has a sagging roof, rotting walls and rafters, and broken windows. At $49,000, the repairs needed to bring the home into code would exceed the $44,000 value of the home. City Commission ordered the home to be demolished.
The Monday, Nov. 9, meeting will have public hearings regarding the rezoning of 702 and 704 E. Alsobrook St. from the industrial district to the general commercial district, as well as the rezoning of a 4-acre parcel of land on Fancy Farms Road to the light industrial district.
DON’T MISS
WHAT: Red Rose Rezone Public Hearing
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9
WHERE: Sadye Gibbs Martin Auditorium, City Hall, 302 W. Reynolds St.
INFO: The public hearing is for an ordinance to rezone the former Red Rose Inn & Suites, at 2011 N. Wheeler St., from the neighborhood district to the planned development district. If approved, there are plans to use the eastern half of the building as a drug and rehabilitation center.
