Whitehall council awards bid for water treatment plant project

A local company was awarded the bid for Whitehall’s water treatment plant project last week.

RJ Jurowski Construction, Inc. was the low bidder at $2.56 million. Isaac Steinmeyer of engineering firm Short Elliott Hendrickson said the company received three bids, ranging from Jurowski’s low bid to a high bid of $2.88 million. One company was from the La Crosse area and the other from Eau Claire. 

While slightly higher than the estimated cost of the project, Steinmeyer said Jurowski’s bid met all of the requirements and recommended they be awarded the bid. The council approved the recommendation unanimously.

The project is expected to improve water quality and limit the amount of waste in the plant. High iron levels have been reported in the plant and city employees have had to backwash, using a significant amount of water, to help with the issue. 

Construction plans will be finalized in June, but the work is not expected to begin until the fall. Steinmeyer said the roof will have to be removed from the plant to get new equipment into the building. 

In other matters, the council voted to solicit bids for three street projects that are to be done this summer. The city will work on Sheila Boulevard, Sandra Street, and Lee Street. 

The council also approved contracts with R & R Waste System Inc. for sludge removal at the wastewater treatment plant and HD Tree Service, LLC to allow for the use of the city brush site.

The city approved a three-year contract with R & R because the company will be under new ownership, and the new owner required financial assurances in order to complete the purchase of the company. The agreement includes at least $80,000 worth of work from the city annually and no more than $100,000 without prior authorization from the city. 

The council signed off on allowing the city office to close one day per month. City Administrator Drew Morelan said it might be a temporary measure, but that city employees needed time to train. Specifically, Morelan said Clerk Karen Witte has had a lot of work to do and both he and the deputy clerk need to be trained to take some of that off her plate.

“It is a liability for the city to have all this institutional knowledge and responsibility only in Karen,” Morelan said. “I think Karen should work for the city for another 10 years, but that maybe is not going to be the case. I like to have a plan to make sure we don’t have a failure.”

Witte recently celebrated her 25th anniversary as the city clerk. 

Morelan said it is possible the city might need to increase staffing in the clerk’s office, but he hasn’t made a final determination on that yet. 

“I want us to be a well-functioning machine,” Morelan said. 

The council approved hiring Larry Alexander as a seasonal part-time general laborer. Mayor Jeff Hauser said Alexander comes with a wealth of municipal knowledge. Morelan said the Whitehall native recently moved back after living in Colorado, where he worked for a municipal government for more than 20 years. He said Alexander is “retired and bored — the exact profile we want.” 

The city went into closed session to discuss candidates for the two open police officer positions. Morelan said the city had five qualified candidates to consider. 

The council also voted to increase pay for lifeguards to $14 per hour and $15 per hour for experienced lifeguards who are returning to the city. Those who are certified to teach swimming lessons will be paid $15 and $16 per hour, depending on experience. 

“These numbers have such a small impact on our budget. It is important that we have a good wage that attracts people,” Bob Sendelbach, council member, said.

Witte said the city is currently having difficulty finding lifeguards to work this summer.

The council voted not to change the cost of admission or swimming lesson fees.