Weiss Construction Submits Low Bid on Pump Station 1 Upgrades, PC-789

Weiss Construction Co., LLC submitted the low bid on July 16, 2013 for the project known as Pumping Station 1 Rack & Grit and MPI 1 & Jefferson Sampling Stations Improvements,” DWSD Contract No. PC-789. 

 There were four bidders on this project. The as-read bids are as follows:

1. Weiss Construction . . . $20,335,000.00
2. Walsh Construction . . . $21,363,291.18
3. Tooles/DCI, JV . . . . . . . $21,619,256.74
4. DeMaria Building Co. .  $21,768,736.77

Even after price equalization, Weiss will be low bidder.

For more about DWSD Update, click here.

Update (8/28): The Board of Water Commissioners voted today 6-0 to approve the award of Contract PC-789 to Weiss Construction for $20,335,000 and a contract duration of 1,350 calendar days.

City of Detroit Files Chapter 9 Bankruptcy: What's next for DWSD?

Earlier today, the City of Detroit's Emergency Manager, Kevyn Orr, signed and filed a petition for Chapter 9 bankruptcy*, the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.  

For a copy of the bankruptcy petition filed earlier this afternoon in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit, click here.  

How will this affect the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department? 

Comment: I fully expect that DWSD to become an independent water authority, as outlined by the EM on June 14, 2013. That was the direction the Department was headed even before the EM was appointed. What will that look like? How long will that transition take? Stay tuned.  

 If you'd like to get a copy of Detroit's bankruptcy petition, write me here, and put "Detroit Chapter 9" in the subject line. 

* For those readers with a PACER account, the case has been assigned Case No. 13-53846.

Update (7/19): The Hon. Steven W. Rhodes has been assigned to this case by the Chief Judge for the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  Judge Rhodes is a highly respected jurist, who has served as a bankruptcy judge for 28 years in the Eastern District of Michigan. He was recommended unanimously by the other bankruptcy judges in the Eastern District of Michigan.     

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Detroit Water and Sewer Bonds Downgraded to Junk Status

On July 3, 2013, Standard & Poors downgraded its rating of Detroit water and sewer bonds to junk status. The rating agency reduced its rating on $5.42 billion bond debt to BB-minus from A and A-plus. This action was taken due to the potential the debt could be restructured by Detroit's Emergency Manager, Kevyn Orr. Uncertainty about the EM's future actions, including a possible bankruptcy, weighed heavily in S&P's decision. 

On April 1, 2013, Fitch Ratings reduced Detroit's water and sewer bond debt to BBB and BBB-plus.

For prior posts about DWSD's water and sewer debt rating, click here.

For more about DWSD Update, click here.