2/21/12 – By a narrow vote, the Beaver Dam Common Council last night tabled a resolution to hire MSA Professional Services to do engineering work on the city’s newest business park. Administrative Committee Chair Don Neuert says it would have been irresponsible to taxpayers to award a $300,000 contract without going out for bid. The Operations Committee signed off on the contract last week and Chair Laine Meyer says it would be foolish to have another engineering firm jump into the middle of a project, especially given the fact that MSA is the city’s contracted consulting engineer and has worked on this project since the beginning. The debate grew heated at times with Mayor Tom Kennedy warning alderpersons that they would be voting against staff recommendations and Alderman Neuert taking offense to the warnings. The city is in the process of expanding TIF #4 on the north side to include a third business park and engineering work on the $3 million dollar project would lay the ground work for infrastructure construction, like electric and water utilities, including the erection of a north side water tower. Under the motion approved last night on a 6 to 5 vote, city officials will seek bids from three companies with hopes of having numbers available by next month to review and compare.
