OTTAWA — On a 3-2 vote, the Ottawa City Commission rejected the bids for a $3 million improvement and expansion project at the water plant Wednesday night. Utility director Jim Bradley told the commissioners the project would replace an 80-year-old underground reservoir called a clearwell. The city would use economic stimulus money and a state loan to pay for it. Those commissioners voting to reject the bids, Gene Ramsey, Rocky Fleer and Sara Humm; expressed concerns about the cost and the four-percent increase to city water rates to pay for the project. Mayor Blake Jorgensen and Commissioner Linda Reed said that despite the cost, the project is needed. Turning down the bids would likely cost the city the economic stimulus funds offered for the project.
