Jasper disappointed in power plant bid response
Jasper Utility Service Board members had hoped the bidding to demolish or purchase the Jasper Power Plant would have wound up with the city making a little money.
Unfortunately, with bids ranging from $294,000 at the lowest to $887,350 at the highest to demolish the nearly 50-year-old structure, the utility service board’s next steps are up in the air.
“I was disappointed that we didn’t get a positive number,” Utilities Manager Bud Hauersperger said. “I had heard from the demolition companies that in the past when the price of steel was up, the demolition would, at least, be a wash. The salvage would cover the cost of the demolition.”
The bid packages required that the demolish of the power plant be completed to three feet below grade, or the ground level, and then seeded and returned to the city as an empty lot. In addition to the amount the city would have to pay to have it demolished, a firm would have been hired to oversee the operation to ensure it was completed under the terms of the contract.
The electric committee will be examining all the bids to ensure they meet all the requirements before deciding the next step.
According to Hauersperger, if things remained the same, the power plant will continue to cost the city between $15,000 and $20,000 a month. That cost is wrapped up in maintenance, utilities and insurance. The power plant has been inactive since April of 2013, the last time it was fired up.
A former electric generation employee that now works with the water department, Ken Bauer, maintains the plant to a certain extent by turning the turbine over every once in awhile and maintain logs.
The bids opened came from:
- North American Dismantling Corporation of Lapeer, Mich. for $756,308.
- B. Jones of Camby, Ind. for $294,000.
- Renascent from Indianapolis for $784,850
- National Salvage and Service Company of Bloomington, Ind. for $837,000.
- Spirtas Wrecking Company of St. Louis, Mos. for $558,885.
- Brandenburg Industrial Service Company of Chicago, Ill. for $664,715.
- Bierlein of Midland, Mich. for $887,350.
Although the bids seem fairly spread out, Hauersperger noted these amounts don’t compare to a power plant demolition that occurred in Henderson, Ky. That project had prices ranging from $5 million to demolish to $37,000 being paid in salvage.
Hauersperger said that the different costs could be associated with the different services the companies have available versus what they will have to subcontract.
The Utility Service Board will have the final say on whether to pursue the demolition of the power plant. If they decline the bids, another option could be to pursue selling the property. “There was some local interest in buying the property and repurposing it,” Hauersperger said. “Some people felt it would be a shame to tear it down.”
They could also decide to wait it out to see if steel prices go back up.
