Rehoboth Beach commissioners have awarded a $21.3 million contract to complete Phase IV of improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The price tag is significantly higher than originally estimated.

“This is not luxury work. It is necessary work,” said Steven Clark, project manager for city consultant GHD, during a meeting Oct. 17. “It’s to keep the facility operational and reliable for years to come. Short of regulatory changes, this is all the work that would be needed for the next 15 years.”

The city’s estimate going into the bid process was $11.3 million.

City Public Works Director Henry Matlosz said 13 contractors were solicited by the city, but only five attended the pre-bid meeting, and only Ronca and Sons submitted a bid. There aren’t many contractors that can handle the project because it’s hard, labor-intensive work, he said.

Matlosz said he spoke with industry peers and heard there’s a lot of interest in smaller, easier projects, but not as much in larger, more complicated projects.

Clark confirmed Matlosz’s comments, saying estimates are made using historical data, while contractors’ estimates are coming in from their vendors. Additionally, he said, there are outside factors playing a role in the price difference – contractors are busy and not aggressive, it’s hard to find labor in this area, there’s been inflationary pressure for a long time and there are constraints regarding working on the plant at certain times of the year.

“All this will have contributed to this difference,” said Clark.

There wasn’t much discussion by city commissioners at the meeting. They had been briefed on the bids and the significant rise in cost during a workshop earlier in the month.

Commissioner Mark Saunders asked Clark if anything had changed from the previous presentation. Clark said no.

“You just want to torture us again,” responded Saunders.

The city is responsible for overseeing the upgrade. However, due to a cost-sharing agreement with Sussex County, city property owners are only responsible for about 35% of the total cost. County customers will be responsible for the rest.

The city has been working to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant for years, beginning with the ocean outfall, which went live in May 2018 and cost about $43 million. After the outfall work was completed, the city completed $12 million worth of infrastructure improvements at the plant. Earlier this year, the city completed another $8 million project that changed how the plant treats and manages biosolids.

The scope of work for Phase IV includes renovations to the administration building, electrical upgrades and expanding the electrical room, replacements to the chemical feed system, replacements in the pump and pipe systems, repairs to the large storage tanks, improvements in flow control, site-wide paving and grade restoration, and installation of a new fiber optic communications loop.