Macon Municipal Utilities is looking for an engineering firm to plan and oversee replacement of lead water service lines, according to a request for qualifications the utility posted Thursday.
MMU has completed an inventory of its service lines and identified a reported 63 commercial and residential lead lines, the request states.
The request, titled Water Improvements 2027, covers two separate pieces of work: a lead service line replacement project, and a five-year extension of Macon’s Owner Supervised Program for water mains for 2028 through 2032. All or part of the funding will come through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Financial Assistance Center, according to the request. It does not give a cost estimate or say how much state aid is expected.
The engineering work may include planning and studies, stakeholder communications, and construction oversight. The firm chosen would also be expected to help Macon find and administer financial assistance, pick a procurement method and select contractors, handle communications with regulators, and complete closeout reports, the request states.
Firms will be scored on five categories worth 20 points each: specialized experience and technical competence, capacity to finish the work on time, past performance on costs, quality, and schedules, proximity to and familiarity with the area, and professional experience designing drinking water systems. An evaluation committee of at least three members of MMU leadership will review the submissions, and interviews, if held, are expected within 30 days after the deadline.
Statements of qualifications are due by 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, to the attention of the MMU general manager at P.O. Box 569, Macon, MO 63552, or by hand delivery to 106 W. Bourke St. They should be marked "MMU RFQ Water Improvements 2027."
MMU posted a separate request Wednesday for a firm to study its electric, water, and wastewater rates, with submissions due the same day. General Manager Dana Ulmer said in an email Thursday that the rate study is tied "to some extent" to the Nov. 3 bond question but had been planned anyway.
On Tuesday, Macon voters will decide whether the city may issue up to $80 million in combined waterworks and sewerage system revenue bonds for water and sewer treatment plant work, to be repaid solely from system revenue. The utility has attributed $50 million of that to the water plant and $30 million to the sewer plant. The ballot refers to a combined system, but the city’s water and wastewater systems are currently separate, according to minutes of the City Council’s Aug. 24 meeting. On Sept. 8, an ordinance to combine the systems failed on a 3-3 council vote because it needed five yes votes, according to the council’s minutes. The lead line request does not mention the bond question.