The Virgin Valley Water District awarded a contract to Trade West to repair and replace transmission lines at the airport Thursday evening.
The contract covers the original Trade West bid of $448,315 as well as 5% to cover any additional, unforeseen costs that may arise. The total contracted amount is $471,000.
Other bids for the project were from Eagle View in the amount of $510,600 and Mesquite General Contractors for $542,669.
Trade West is also completing repairs on the airport runway in a contract with the City of Mesquite. There were questions as to whether either project would be delayed but Kevin Brown, General Manager for the VVWD, said that he has been assured neither would be affected, and that Trade West was responsible for keeping with the schedule.
Notice of award of the contract begins Friday.
The project was not planned, nor budgeted, but Brown assured that the funds have been diverted from other projects – delaying those until next year – and other sources.
Brown let the board know that VVWD has received official written notification that the district’s loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been forgiven. The funds do not need to be repaid and the districts records adjusted the funds from loan designation to miscellaneous revenue.
Steve Hall and Aaron Bunker were not present at the meeting, but Bunker’s report on Well 35 was covered by Brown.
Brown said testing of the well’s output would begin next week, and he was hoping for 2,000 per minute, though he said Bunker was expecting output of 1,700 gallons per minute.
He said that Well 36 is underway and the pilot hole has been drilled. The district is waiting on the screen and casing to move forward with that project in about two to three weeks. Well 36 should be done in December.
The board also discussed the shortage of ferric chloride and sodium hypochlorite. Brown said the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) will be selling VVWD 4,000, and it would help in the nick of time for a couple of the area’s treatment plants.
Brown said the district is working on the permitting process to use an alternative chemical – ferric sulfate – that is cheaper and already in use by other states, including California.
The next VVWD meeting is scheduled for Sept. 7, 5 p.m., at 500 Riverside Rd.
