Bids opened for Emmet water tower project

EMMET – Bids were opened Thursday afternoon for the repainting of the Emmet water tower.

No bids were accepted as it will require the approval of the Emmet City Council, which next meets on July 20. Glen and Daniel Spears, with Spears Engineering. Co, of Texarkana, were on hand to open the bids. Glen Spears said the initial estimate for the project was around $180,000.

Seven bids were received prior to the deadline, with three coming in after the opening time began and the three arriving after 2 p.m. were rejected and will be returned to the companies in question. Cunningham Sandblasting and Painting of Joplin, Mo. submitted the low bid at $194,500, with the alternate deductive being $185,750. The high bid was from Classic of Wisconsin at $398,950.

Now begins the process of accepting the bid. Spears said it will have to be approved by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the Emmet City Council. Once all of the ducks are in a row, the bid winner will have a contract of 150 days to get the job done, with rain days included.

Having the interior and exterior of the 50,000 gallon tank painted is a requirement of the Arkansas Department of Health to insure the quality of drinking water for customers on the system.