FENWICK ISLAND – Officials in Fenwick Island last week accepted a $59,000 proposal to support bidding work related to a town dredging project.
Last Friday, the Fenwick Island Town Council voted 7-0 to accept a $59,000 proposal from Anchor QEA, a Lewes-based engineering firm, to support the town’s bidding and RFP process for a long-awaited dredging project in the Little Assawoman Bay. Councilman Bill Rymer, chair of the town’s dredging committee, noted that the consulting fees would cover design documents, bid evaluations and more.
“The consultants will create the final engineering specs and all the designs necessary to support a formal bid package, as well as help create the actual bid packages themselves,” he explained. “These packages are going to be very technical and very complex, so we definitely need their support. Anchor has handled these types of bid procedures for many municipalities as well as for DNREC itself.”
In June, the Town of Fenwick Island submitted three permit applications – one with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and two with DNREC – for a project that calls for dredging roughly 19,000 cubic yards of material in the north and south channels. With the third and final round of public notifications ending Oct. 31, committee members last week began looking ahead to the bidding and RFP portion of the project, set to take place in 2024.
“If all goes well, we’ll kick off the bidding and RFP process in January with the hope of selecting a dredge contractor in February,” Rymer said last week. “We’re hoping they hit the water in March for 60 to 74 days and have the project done before June 1.”
Rymer told council members last Friday that Anchor, a consultant for the town’s dredging project, has submitted its proposal for bidding and RFP support. He said the town had used engineering firms in recent years to provide bidding support.
“For comparison purposes, I went back and looked at has the town engaged in this kind of a relationship before,” he said. “Most recently, we paid roughly $60,000 for similar services related to the sidewalk project. That process was for a $400,000 to $500,000 contract. I think the bid package would be as technical as this one in terms of dredging and disposal.And this quote is for $59,000.”
Rymer told council members that the consulting fee of $59,000 would be covered by grant funds the town received for the dredging project. He said no money would be used from the town’s reserves or realty transfer tax fund.
“Consistent with the vote from the [dredging] committee, I am making a motion to have the town council vote to approve the consulting fee,” he said.
After further discussion, the council voted unanimously to approve the $59,000 contract for bidding and RFP services.
