Council approves $13.656 million contract for Umatilla water and sewer extension

The Umatilla City Council on Sept. 16 approved Resolution 09-2026 to award a construction contract of $13,656,000 for a water and sewer extension project serving Power City and the Brownell neighborhood, and delegated authority to City Manager Stockdale to execute the contract and any amendments. The resolution passed by roll call vote with all members recorded "aye."

City staff said the city solicited proposals and received five bids, and that the winning bid came in significantly lower than the engineer’s estimate — a result staff described as particularly beneficial on the sewer portion because the city expects to borrow a larger loan for sewer work. The staff presentation in the meeting packet recapped the bids and explained the selection; staff said they were “excited to get rolling” on a project planners called "long time coming."

Why it matters: the extension is a major capital project (more than $13 million) that will expand water and sewer infrastructure into new neighborhoods and will require contract management and loan oversight. The council delegated signature authority to the city manager to expedite contract execution and subsequent amendments.

The meeting record shows no substantive amendments to the contract award at the time of the vote. Councilors and staff congratulated the project team on receiving competitive bids. The resolution text delegates to City Manager Stockdale authority to sign all contract documents and any further amendments associated with the agreement.

Next steps: staff will finalize contract documents with the awarded contractor and begin preconstruction activities; the city indicated it will manage financing and loan documents related to the sewer portion of the project.