The Polk County Board of Commissioners approved a contract with Steppe Construction to extend a water line from Sunny View School to the Polk County line and an extension on Ken Miller Road.

Commissioners met on Monday, Feb. 22 and accepted the low bid from Steppe Construction in the amount of $553,676. The county received three bids for the project, including from T&K Utilities Inc. ($637,910) and Kennedy Concrete & Utilities Inc. ($687,907).

Both projects were bid as one, with the county deciding to appropriate a total of $570,000 for the projects. Commissioners approved budget amendments to take $520,000 from its fund balance and to transfer $50,000 left over from the Green River Baptist Church water line extension.

County engineer Dave Odom met with commissioners this week and recommended the county accept the lowest bid.

Commissioners approved the contract by a 3-2 vote, with commissioners Shane Bradley and Ray Gasperson voting against the project.

Gasperson attempted to amend the motion not to approve the contract with Steppe Construction at this time and called for a moratorium on water line extensions.

“Also that there will be a moratorium on any more taxpayer money being allocated from the county’s fund balance for new water line construction until a Polk County Water Authority has been created that at a minimum would include all of the water line service area and proposed areas served by Polk County government,” Gasperson said.

Among the duties of the water authority, Gasperson said, the authority would review and approve new water lines and potentially make requests for funding to the Polk County Board of Commissioners for new water line construction.

Gasperson’s motion to amend the original motion died for a lack of a second from the board.

Commissioner Michael Gage, who made the motion to approve the contract, said he did not wish to amend his motion. Gage asked Gasperson what the county water authority would look like and who would be in it.

Gasperson said when engineer Keith Webb did a report for the Protect Polk Water group he stated the county could begin with an authority comprised of just Polk County and add entities later.

Gasperson said that would give the county another means to have review and make sure it is making good and prudent decisions.

The water line to Sunny View has been called by some residents in the county “the water line to nowhere.”

Commissioners approved going out for bids during its Jan. 25 meeting, with Odom telling commissioners last month he would return with a potential number of customers on the line, although he did not disclose that number this week.

During the vote to seek bids on the project, commissioners approved it by a 4-1 vote in January, with Gasperson being the only vote not to seek bids.

Odom brought the item to commissioners in January saying he was originally going to add a change order to Steppe Construction’s contract, which extended the water line from Hwy. 108 to Sunny View School last year, but it was determined that wasn’t the appropriate course of action so he recommended going out for new bids. The original change order to add the project of extending the line from Sunny View School to the county line was $515,000. Ken Miller Road was added to the project after the January meeting.

The county spent $1,981,736 to extend the water line from Hwy. 108 down Hwy. 9 to the school, which included putting the Sunny View Fire and Rescue Department and the school on public water instead of wells.

Commissioners in favor of extending the water line to the county line have not given reasons why they want to extend the line.