Council to discuss wastewater contract bidding process

BARSTOW — The City Council will meet on Monday to discuss the bidding process for a contested construction contract to upgrade the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Bureau Veritas, an outside consultant hired by the city, will present its analysis of a $15 million bid to design the facility by Micromedia Filtration Inc., a relatively inexperienced firm which some council members dispute is equipped to handle the project.

After hearing the consultant’s recommendations, council members will vote to consider hiring Bureau Veritas at a cost of up to $160,000 to further assist it in selecting the contractor for the facility upgrade.

Also at the meeting, the council will review the findings of an outside consultant hired to analyze the effectiveness of the organization and management of the city. According to the analysis of the Matrix Consulting Group, many of the city’s operating policies are decades out of date and the city is unprepared to meet the needs of expected future growth at current staffing levels.

The council will also hear a presentation from electricity producer Southern California Edison about the state of the region’s electric utilities.

The council will meet at council chambers at City Hall, 220 E. Mountain View. Regularly scheduled meetings are televised live on Time Warner Cable channel 6 and recordings are placed on the city’s Web site, www.barstowca.org.