Bids for the construction of a 200,000 gallon per day wastewater treatment plant and collection system for the service area came in lower than expected last week.

Village administrator Don Ferguson reported to aldermen Nov. 16 that four bids were received for the construction of the collection system ranging from the low bid of $3.3 million to a high bid of $6.2 million.

The Village also received seven bids for the construction of a 200,000 gallon per day treatment plant ranging from $5.07 million to a high bid of $6.6 million.

“This is a lot better than we anticipated,” Ferguson told aldermen, adding that “it would have been really interesting to see what the bids would have been without the influence of Hurricane Harvey” on the construction industry in Texas.

Aldermen anticipate awarding the bids at a special meeting on Nov. 30 to allow construction to begin as early as December or January.

Bidders were able to meet the constraints of a one-year construction program, according to Ferguson.

Ferguson added that no construction will be done on Main Street in Salado during the Christmas shopping season. That work will start in the new year.

“We will need to get across the highway,” Ferguson said. “We need to get that out of the way.”

The Village is currently working to conduct a rate study and impact fee study. The rate study will incorporate three years of water data that has been supplied by Salado Water Supply Corporation. “We should be thankful for their help in providing this information,” Ferguson said of SWSC.

Ferguson said that he hopes to get the rate structure “put to bed early in this process.”

In other business before the board of aldermen, Fred Brown gave a motion that an ordinance to change the name of the Board of Aldermen to City Council be postponed “until the first meeting in July 2030,” which happens to be July 4. The motion failed for lack of a second.

Aldermen voted unanimously to add a three-day permit for food truck vendors for $50. Currently, there is an annual permit for food truck vendors for $250 per year. Village administration will draft an ordinance that deals only with food truck vendors for future consideration. It will consider conditional use permits for food trucks, as well as site host permits for property owners to purchase to cover several different vendors on one property over a period of time.

The Village will circulate a survey in February concerning the white deer population.

Under separate agenda items, aldermen also approved the formation of a  five member Tourism Advisory Board and a sewer Impact Fee Advisory committee.