Council approves pump-station capacity study as hospital seeks to limit scope and cost

Snoqualmie City Council on Monday voted to award an engineering contract to RH2 for a capacity study and concept design of the Business Park (BP) lift station, which staff say is near capacity and may need upgrades to support a hospital expansion scheduled for 2026. The action authorizes the study; design and construction decisions would follow the study results. Council heard extended public testimony from Snoqualmie Valley Health representatives, including an owner representative and CEO Renee Jensen. The hospital's representatives said they are proposing a reduced scope to limit the cost and speed the schedule; staff indicated the consultant's scope evaluates multiple alternatives to determine constructibility and long-term cost. Andrew Vining, project engineer, described the study scope as an "alternatives evaluation and a concept design," including surveying, utility mapping and evaluation of up to three alternatives in parallel so that a recommended approach can be identified. Vining said the work includes preliminary concept modeling and site survey to avoid unknown subsurface conflicts and to provide a reliable recommendation. Hospital representatives asked the council to limit or focus the consultant scope on what they consider the most likely, timely solution. The hospital noted a proposed deposit of $98,000 toward the study and urged staff to "reel that back in and and try to, decrease the scope," saying the project schedule and the hospital's financing are time sensitive. CEO Renee Jensen said the project "is an enormously huge project" for the valley and urged coordination to avoid budget and schedule risk. Council debated balancing schedule pressure with engineering rigor. Multiple councilors and staff favored retaining an alternatives evaluation to reduce the risk of pursuing an option that later proves unconstructible or more costly; Councilor Cotton said, "we don't want to hamstring ourselves by restricting the scope," and recommended doing the due diligence. Staff reported the city had not yet issued a formal invoice to the hospital; Community Development Director Werner Davis (staff) said the invoice would be required before signing the RH2 agreement. Council asked staff to expedite invoicing and to press the consultant to accelerate the study schedule; staff said they would attempt to move milestone dates earlier and hoped to complete deliverables by late fall or early December, if possible. The motion to award the engineering contract with RH2 passed unanimously. The city will require a deposit from the hospital before signing the agreement, and staff will proceed with data collection, alternatives evaluation and a preliminary concept design.