Tacoma Bid Watch: Foss Waterway Esplanade, ammo recycling, and People's Community Center swimming pool

The Tacoma Daily Index often publishes the City of Tacoma’s calls for bids asking contractors to meet the City’s needs on a range of supplies, services, and projects. Here is a short-list of some recent and notable calls for bids issued from Tacoma City Hall.

First, following up on an item reported in the Tacoma Daily Index last month (see “Tacoma Bid Watch: Foss Waterway Esplanade, building demolition, and arts funding,” Tacoma Daily Index, Dec. 29, 2014; and “City of Tacoma REQUEST FOR BIDS Specification No. PW14-0727F Department,” Tacoma Daily Index, Dec. 29, 2014), one contractor has bid on a public works project involving the second phase of the Thea Foss Waterway Site 11 Esplanade, according to information on the City’s Web site. Bid documents prepared by City staff show the project calls for the construction of a 300-foot-long concrete esplanade with lighting, railing, and park benches. The project will also install 17 new piles to support the new esplanade. The project budget is estimated at $1.3 million to $1.4 million. A pre-bid meeting was held at 2 p.m. on Tues., Dec. 30, at the Foss Harbor Marina, located at 821 Dock St., in downtown Tacoma. The bid deadline expired at 11 a.m. on Tues., Jan. 13. According to information on the City’s Web site, Pease Construction, Inc. (Lakewood, Wash. — $1,593,885) bid on the project. This isn’t the first time the project has gone out for bid. The City advertised the project two years ago (see “City of Tacoma REQUEST FOR BIDS Specification No. PW11-0430F Department,” Tacoma Daily Index, Oct. 1, 2013), but the bids exceeded the funding available for the project, and the proposals were rejected. Last year, the project was put out for bid again (see “7 contractors bid on Foss Waterway Site 11 Esplanade project,” Tacoma Daily Index, April 16, 2014; and “City seeks bids for Foss Waterway Site 11 Esplanade project,” Tacoma Daily Index, March 4, 2014), and a contract was awarded. However, the contract was terminated after the contractor was unable to perform the work.

Tacoma Bid Watch: Foss Waterway Esplanade, building demolition, and arts funding

Tacoma Bid Watch: Foss Waterway Esplanade, ammo recycling, and People's Community Center swimming pool

Second, the City and the Tacoma Police Department are accepting bids on a multi-year contract to salvage the spent ammunition shell casings collected at the Harrison Range for firearms training, according to a legal notice published this week in the Tacoma Daily Index. Bid documents prepared by City staff show handgun and rifle shell casings of various calibers and manufacturers are stored in 44-gallon plastic garbage bins, and need to be collected for recycling at least once per month. On average, between 300 pounds and 600 pounds of brass and nickel-plated brass casings are collected each month at the training facility, which is located at 101 McMurray Road NE, near the Port of Tacoma tide flats. The bid deadline expires at 11 a.m. on Tues., Feb. 10. More information is available online here.

Finally, following up on an item reported in the Tacoma Daily Index last month (see “Tacoma Bid Watch: Gangs, graffiti, and South Tacoma Way / Water Ditch Trail upgrades,” Tacoma Daily Index, Dec. 9, 2014), the City has extended the bid deadline for a project that will bring a range of road improvements along a significant stretch of South Tacoma Way. Bid documents prepared by City staff show the City seeks to establish a contract with a company that can provide an asphalt overlay, ADA ramps, sidewalk, curbs, gutters, and streetlights on South Tacoma Way, between South 56th Street and South 66th Street, as well as South 43rd Street and South 47th Street. The project will also improve two sections of the Water Ditch Trail — First, the traffic signal at South 58th Street will be upgraded to better serve pedestrians; second, the Water Ditch Trail will be constructed between South Tacoma Way and the new Sounder Station. The budget is estimated between $2.7 million and $3 million. The bid deadline was originally set to expire at 11 a.m. on Tues., Jan. 13. The bid deadline has been extended by one week to 11 a.m. on Tues., Jan. 20.

***UPDATE — Tues., Jan. 13, 2015 @ 3:15 p.m. | One more item of significance was put out for bid as the Tacoma Daily Index was posting this story:

The City is accepting bids on a project to build a new public swimming pool at the People’s Community Center in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood, according to information posted on the City’s Web site. Bid documents prepared by City staff show the project calls for demolishing the exiting pool, constructing an 11,900-square-foot swimming pool, and completing related site improvements. The project budget is estimated at $4.8 million. A pre-bid meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Mon., Jan. 26, at the People’s Community Center, located at 1602 S. Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. The bid deadline expires at 11 a.m. on Tues., Feb. 10. More information is available online here.