JAY — Selectpersons voted unanimously Monday to award a construction contract to Jordan Excavation of Kingfield for $4.31 million for the North Jay sewer conversion, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said Tuesday.

The other bid was $4.34 million from Ranger Contracting of Fairfield, LaFreniere said. About $30,000 separated the two bidders. Both bids were over budget.

In September 2018, voters approved borrowing up to $3.9 million for the work.

The plan is to abandon the aging North Jay Wastewater Treatment Plant and to install a pump station and force-main system to connect the North Jay sewer system to the gravity sewer system near Jay Plaza in Jay Village. The sewage would go to the Livermore Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant. Part of the pipeline will run beside a multiuse trail owned by the state.

Wright-Pierce engineers of Topsham, which is working with the town on the project, recommended selectmen award the contract to the Kingfield company.

The town has been approved for $3 million in grants for the $4.9 million job. The town will borrow about $1.9 million, LaFreniere said.

A preconstruction meeting is set for Thursday, June 20, at the Town Office.