YOUNGSTOWN — For the second time this week, city council failed to approve legislation to permit the board of control to sign a contract for up to $43 million for an interceptor sewer project to keep wastewater from flowing into two Mill Creek Park lakes.

Council didn’t have enough members Friday voting in favor of approving the ordinance by emergency. Councilwoman Samantha Turner, D-3rd Ward, voted against considering the legislation for an emergency vote, saying she still had questions about the contract.

Council needs at least six of its seven members to vote to approve legislation by emergency measure so Friday’s 5-1 vote gave the interceptor sewer proposal only a second reading.

Turner and Amber White, I-7th Ward, didn’t attend Monday’s special council meeting, leaving the legislative body unable to approve the contract or anything else by emergency. White was again absent Friday.

Every other piece of legislation on Friday’s agenda, which was identical to what was given a first reading Monday, passed 6-0.

Council typically approves legislation by emergency measure, but can also pass items with a majority vote after three readings at three separate meetings.

The contract with Marucci & Gaffney Excavating Co. of Youngstown for the Mill Creek Park sewer interceptor project, costing up to $43 million, will move to a third and final reading. Council is next scheduled to meet Aug. 26. There was no discussion Friday about having a meeting before then.

The work is for the first two of four phases for an interceptor sewer project to keep wastewater from 13 lines from flowing into Mill Creek Park’s Lake Glacier and Lake Cohasset.

Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th Ward, said he was “disappointed” with the vote and “it’s unfortunate that (it) didn’t pass because some people don’t understand the process.”

Ray said he wasn’t referring to Turner, but to those who are complaining that the city administration chose to award the contract through a different method than the standard bidding process.

The city decided instead to use a “construction manager at risk” method for the first time, said Jason Small, a senior assistant law director.

“This is designed to lock in a price and if it goes over, it’s Marucci & Gaffney that has to pay,” he said. “We decided to use this because this is a really important project and we want to control this.”

The cost of the project is estimated between $28 million and $43 million, based on a determination by MS Consultants Inc., the Youngstown company that was paid $4.8 million to design most of the work.

A final price will be negotiated between the city and Marucci & Gaffney later this month.

The city chose Marucci & Gaffney over Rudzik Excavating Inc. of Struthers, the only other company that sought the work.

Small said Marucci & Gaffney “had more experience in this area. They had experience specifically with installations in Mill Creek Park. They did more projects concerning combined sewer systems and combined sewer overflows. I don’t want to disparage Rudzik at all. They seem completely competent, but it just seems (Marucci & Gaffney) had more experience, especially working with the city and working on these types of projects.”

Jim Tressa, Rudzik’s senior estimator / project manager, said his company has more experience with this work and he doesn’t know how the city could “know about our background as they never called any of our references. (Small) is not a contractor or an engineer and he’s flat out wrong. We’re extremely capable. We are more qualified.”

Tressa said he believes city officials planned to hire Marucci & Gaffney before the process even started.

Tressa said Rudzik’s documents stated the company’s goal was to finish the project at a cost of $30 million.

Small and Lou D’Apolito, a senior assistant city law director, said there isn’t a price for the contract until one is finalized with the contractor and the estimate remains at $28 million to $43 million.

D’Apolito said Rudzik’s $30 million goal “is based on nothing. It’s just what they think the project will cost.”

D’Apolito added: “You look at the two proposals and you will find that one was far more extensive than the other.”

Tressa strongly disagreed, adding: “Maybe on final design, the price goes up. But it doesn’t go up $13 million. That’s for damn sure.”

If the city had sought traditional bids, it would have received plenty of them, Tressa said.

“M&G is qualified, but it’s the same old game in town all the time,” he said. “Just make it a level playing field.”

The project is supposed to start in January and be finished by May 29, 2028. The third phase would be done by April 18, 2031, and the final part finished by Sept. 29, 2032.

The interceptor sewer is part of a larger wastewater improvement project the city is required to do under a federal consent decree.

The interceptor project will be discussed at a 5 p.m. Monday public meeting at the Covelli Centre Community Room.

The city, federal government and state of Ohio “successfully finalized a proposed resolution,” according to a June 20 federal court filing by all the parties, to the ongoing dispute that permits the city to reduce a phase of the wastewater improvement project.

The federal government wants to make the resolution official by Aug. 26 to “provide sufficient time for the United States to consider any public comment on the proposed consent decree amendment and advise the court and other parties as to the United States’ final position.”