Mayor pauses sewer‑system engineering procurement pending spring flow monitoring and refined phase‑1 scope

The city administration told council it would withdraw a pending resolution that would have advanced a sewer‑engineering contract, citing differences among the three bids and the need for additional spring and summer flow monitoring to frame a comparable phase‑1 scope.

Mayor Ben Kessler said the requests for proposals produced competing approaches — some firms emphasized modeling expertise while others proposed hands‑on physical inspection — and that staff do not want to compare “apples and oranges.” He described the flow monitoring now under way as information that will help define a focused first phase of work and said the administration plans to return with a clear scope and cost estimate as part of the 2026 budget process.

The mayor explained the pause will allow the city to assess monitoring data, further consult the board of control and present an apples‑to‑apples procurement for the initial investigation phase. Councilmember Jess Saad moved to withdraw Resolution 01‑25 from the table; Councilmember Marcelino seconded the motion. The motion carried by voice vote and the resolution was withdrawn for now.

City staff said the flow monitoring is intended to capture seasonal spring and summer flows and that the earlier worst‑case totals discussed during procurement were preliminary; staff will return with a honed scope that compares vendors on the same deliverables and clarifies the likely first‑year costs. The mayor said balancing a careful technical approach with the long‑term infrastructure needs motivated the pause: “I’d like to take a pause,” he told council, to allow staff time to present a more structured plan.

No engineering contract was approved at the meeting; the administration said it will continue the monitoring effort, refine the phase‑1 scope and present recommendations in the fall budget cycle.