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Commission awards $1.1877 million bid to build Public Water Supply Well No. 33 with alternate design option
Summary
The commission approved Lee Construction’s $1,187,700 bid to build Public Water Supply Well No. 33, directed staff to contract a $4,500 supplemental design for a concrete masonry (CMU) building that could reduce the contractor cost by roughly $90,000, and will fund the project from 2024 general obligation bonds.
The Garden City Commission voted Aug. 19 to award Lee Construction Inc. a $1,187,700 contract to construct Public Water Supply Well No. 33 and to have staff approve a $4,500 supplemental design agreement with PEC to allow a CMU (concrete masonry unit) well house alternative that staff said could reduce contractor costs by approximately $90,000.
Public Works and Utilities Director Mike Muirhead said the city began addressing failing wells in 2021 after mechanical construction issues with Sandhills 1 and the Chestnut Well. Well No. 32 replaced Sandhills 1 earlier this year. For Well No. 33 the city acquired a new parcel at 214 Fleming Street because the old Chestnut Well site lacked space for a redrill, Muirhead said. Kansas Division of Water Resources approved moving the well site more than 300 feet from the old location, and KDHE completed an environmental review in June 2025.
The city opened bids on Aug. 8 and received a single bid from Lee Construction for $1,187,700. The contractor included an alternate proposing a split-face concrete block (CMU) building instead of the specified precast concrete, which staff estimated would reduce the bid by about $90,000; PEC would charge $4,500 to design and stamp the CMU building so it can be constructed. Muirhead recommended approving Lee's base bid and the supplemental design agreement to permit the CMU alternate. "This exclusion would propose an alternate construction method for the public water supply well building… That exclusion would result in a total price deduction of approximately $90,000 from the base bid," Muirhead said.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions on whether the depth would change (Muirhead said the well will be approximately the same depth as the old well, about 300 feet) and why the project attracted a single bidder (well construction involves drilling subcontractors and is frequently bid locally). The commission approved the recommendation; staff said the project will be funded from the 2024 general obligation bonds series A and that GL code information is in the meeting memo.
