City Delays Final Phase of Maine Street Improvements

Back to the Drawing Board -- by Ginny Dugan -- Street improvements on South Maine Street, from Front Street to Tolas Place, have been temporarily delayed after the Fallon City Council at its January 6^th meeting rejected all bids it recently received to complete the proposed project. Although construction costs were originally estimated to be $793,132 and later updated to $1,178,126, the lowest bid, submitted by A&K Movers of Fallon in the amount of $2,175,000, was much higher than the city’s estimate. The rejection will allow city staff and Lumos & Associates the opportunity to reduce the complexity and cost of the project and to re-advertise for bids on the simplified plan. According to Robert Erquiaga, Legal and Administrative Director, speaking at the city council meeting in the absence of Brian Byrd, Public Works Director, the city will now “go back to the drawing board,” with continued contact with NDOT, in order to scale back the project in order to make it more affordable (and closer to the original estimate of cost) while also retaining its expected benefits. After the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) notified the City of Fallon that it could proceed to advertise, award and administer a contract to construct the final phase of the Maine Street enhancements, city officials completed the design of the project and advertised and bid it as required by state and federal regulations. In general, the project included the demolition and removal of existing roadway, landscaping, paving, sanitary sewer, storm drains, and waterlines. Construction involved the installation of curb, gutter, sidewalk, paving, sanitary sewer, street lighting, storm drain manholes, on-street parking, and landscaping improvements. The City of Fallon and NDOT had been working together on this project since 2017. Federal funds for the project, based on the original estimate of $793,132, are available but capped at $750,000. Pursuant to the Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 138.143, the city council may reject any bids it receives if its members determine that the public interest would be served by such a rejection. The city council’s January 6^th rejection was deemed to serve the public interest. In other business, Police Chief Kevin Gehman briefly discussed his department’s monthly report. In November of 2019 a total of 744 incidents were reported - an increase of 85 when compared with October’s figure but below the numbers listed for each of the summer months of July, August and September.  Among the few citizen survey comments, the majority of which were positive about the Fallon Police Department, was a request for something to be done about keeping individuals, who are not residents of the homes located near Churchill County High School, from parking in front of the houses and blocking the driveways. Activities or special events of the Fallon Police Department in November 2019 included two officers and the department’s Explorers serving food to local citizens at Epworth United Methodist Church on the 7^th of the month. The Fallon City Council meets the first and third Mondays of each month at City Hall, 55 W. Williams Ave., Fallon. The public is welcome to attend.       Never miss a meeting or community event – keep an eye on the community calendar at https://www.thefallonpost.org/events/ If you like what we’re doing, please support our effort to provide local, independent news and contribute to The Fallon Post, your online news source for all things Fallon.