Council approves construction-phase services for West Tonka High School water main; city outlines financing options

The Minnetrista City Council approved Task Order 15 to provide construction-phase services and resident project representative services for a water main replacement that runs across West Tonka High School property. City Administrator Jasper Krugel told the council the task order is a not-to-exceed amount for construction management services and will ensure the main is installed to city specifications.

“This is just the construction management side of that,” Krugel said, asking council to authorize the work at a not-to-exceed amount of about $42,500. He said bids for the school portion came in below the engineer's estimate and that one partner, Baylor, elected not to proceed with the portion of work they had contemplated. Krugel said the main replacement “is probably a 2 year project as they open up different areas of that property.”

Krugel described the ownership split in the cooperative agreement with the school: “the city is owning the the water main that goes across. Anything that comes off that water main is all gonna be owned by the school and maintained by the school moving forward.” He said the city will issue a bond for the total project cost and the school will repay its portion over a 20-year period; staff will return with a preliminary cost-share agreement and finalize amounts after construction quantities are determined.

Council approved the task order by voice vote. The motion passed unanimously.

Krugel also updated council on broader water and funding issues that affect Minnetrista. He described ongoing work to secure state bonding and Public Facilities Authority (PFA) funding for a separate water treatment project. He said discussions at the Legislature centered on a potential statewide bonding package and that PFA scoring left the city just short of fundable status: “We got 6. 0... the cutoff this last year, I believe, was 7 points,” Krugel said. He said staff are coordinating with state representatives and the Minnesota Department of Health to seek scoring adjustments and pursue PFA financing, which could yield better interest rates and access to grants. Krugel noted potential outside funding including congressional earmarks and said PFA fundability could unlock “potentially up to $3,000,000 in a emerging contaminant grant.”

Krugel said staff will return to the council later this summer with finalized cost-share figures for the school project and further finance recommendations for water-system investments.