OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A local construction company is publicly challenging a $411 million contract approved by the Omaha City Council in 2024, asking the council to reject the deal before a final vote scheduled for March 10.
The contract would lock in McCarthy Building Companies to expand the Papillion Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility under a Guaranteed Maximum Price agreement, meaning the project legally cannot exceed that amount. The facility has not had a major upgrade in roughly 50 years.
Local firm says project could cost less
Hawkins Construction CEO Chris Hawkins said the $411 million ceiling is already set too high. In December, he submitted an unsolicited proposal claiming the same work could be done for more than $75 million less.
“We provided the proposal so that there was an objective, third-party, independent cost analysis of what this really should cost,” Hawkins said. “And we know, with certainty, it is tens of millions of dollars less than what is in front of City Council currently.”…