PARKERSBURG — The Parkersburg Utility Board voted Tuesday to seek bids on the replacement of a boiler and air compressor system at the water treatment plant.

Manager Eric Bennett said the plans and specifications have been completed, but a final cost estimate is still being determined.

“I’m fairly confident that you’re looking at about ($250,000),” he said during the regular meeting Tuesday morning at the utility’s offices. “It’s a relatively small project.”

Locally based engineering firm Burgess & Niple determined the existing setup of two air compressors with separate tanks can be replaced with a single tank and dual air compressors. That won’t make a large cost difference up front but is expected to help over time, Bennett said.

“Some of the cost-savings will be long term in the fact that there’s less equipment to maintain,” he said.

Bennett asked the board to authorize the bidding process, which will take a couple of months to complete. Delivery of the components is expected to take an additional 12 weeks, so the utility needs to move forward in order to finish the work prior to cold weather setting in later this year, he said in a memo to the board.

Mayor Tom Joyce, the board’s chairman, noted the recent passage of another federal COVID-19 stimulus initiative will have a lot of contractors busy in the near future.

“Given the American Rescue Plan, the faster things (go) to bid, the better off we’re going to be,” he said.

The boiler provides heat for both the treatment plant building and some of the chemicals in the treatment process, while the compressor is used in the operation of pneumatic valves for filters.

Bennett said the project will be included in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1.