Ivanhoe water projectbid process comes up dry

What was supposed to be an announcement of the winning bid for the Ivanhoe water project Monday turned out to be a dry hole but with new information Monday night at the Sampson County Board of Commisioners meeting.

No bid was awarded for the construction contract of the Ivanhoe water system.

Mark Turlington, the county’s director of Public Works told commissioners only two bids were received and state law required there to be at least three bids for the contract to be awarded. He then requested the issue be tabled until the next meeting.

The county board unanimously approved tabling the issue until the November meeting after Turlington said by that time two bids would be enough to be considered, and the construction project could be awarded at that time.

The rules for bidding on the Ivanhoe project have stipulations: state law requires that Sampson County must receive at least three bids from different contractors to be considered. If three bids are not submitted by Oct.3, the county must wait 10 more days, or more. However, if three bids are not made after the 10-day waiting period, the county can select the winning bid.

County Commissioner Chairman Jerol Kivett mentioned during the meeting how the board had been trying to get the Ivanhoe water project “locked down for a couple of years now” and expressed his concern about the stipulations of the grant funding deadline.

Turlington reassured him that deadline would be extended if needed.

In 2022, the county applied for a grant to help pay for the cost of installing water lines in the southern end of the county. By September 2022, the grant was approved, adding $17 million in State Capital and Infrastructure Fund grants and American Rescue Plan Act grants, along with the roughly $13 million in state funds for the future Ivanhoe project. In total, the grants and special appropriations comes to $48.6 million.

Construction on the project is slated to begin in early 2025 with a completion date of December 2026, as stipulated by the grant.

“We’re not anticipating it taking that long, but it does have to be finished by then” said Turlington.

The public works director also said that about 350 households in the Ivanhoe water project zone are expected to be signed up for the water connection, and the homeowners do not have to pay for the connection.

The water main extensions in the Ivanhoe area will connect residents along Lisbon Bridge Road, Harrells Highway (Hwy 411), Longview Lake Road, Clear Run School Road, Firetower Road, Wildcat Road, Hoover Road, Alpine Church Road, Dr. Kerr Road, Trestle Road, Ivanhoe Road, G. Shaw Road, Barnhill Road, Eddie L. Jones Road and McKoy Loop Road.