Peoria council approves $8.9 million contract for combined sewer overflow control project year 4

The Peoria City Council approved the low bid from Illinois Civil Contractors Inc. for the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Project Year 4 and authorized related loan and budget actions as required under the city's consent decree with federal and state regulators.

Council approvals covered multiple related items: award of the construction contract ($8,897,041.30), authorization of a contingency ($889,703.70), a notice of intent to award contingent on Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) loan approval, a contract execution authorization, an agreement for Illinois American Water Company reimbursement for water-main relocation work (not to exceed $282,051), and two budget amendments increasing sewer-fund construction amounts by $1,204,694 (each requiring two-thirds council approval). All items were approved by the council and carried unanimous votes where recorded.

Public Works Director Rick Powers framed the vote within the broader consent-decree obligation to eliminate combined-sewer discharges into the Illinois River under a multi‑year schedule. "We are into year 4 ... we have 18 years to eliminate all of them," he said, noting that extreme, rare storms remain exceptions. Powers described the higher-than-expected bid as a product of construction-market uncertainty rather than identifiable material-cost drivers and called the contractor's proposal "a reasonable bid considering it's the only bid" received.

Council members asked how the overage would be financed. The manager and finance director explained the city plans to use IEPA revolving-loan authority and existing budgeted funds for the sewer program; an interest rate near 1.87 percent was mentioned as the recent loan rate. Directors and councilors also discussed inflation, CPI modeling, and whether project staging should change given current construction prices. Powers said the city will review storage and green-infrastructure options and that an asset-management effort aims to improve on-time, on-budget delivery for the multiyear program.

The council approved the items in sequence, with votes recorded for each motion. Council discussion also noted that utility relocation costs are being reimbursed through an agreement with Illinois American Water Company.

Ending: The approvals move the CSO Year 4 construction contract toward execution pending IEPA loan processing and implement budget changes to cover higher construction costs; staff signaled follow-up reporting and studies on staging and storage options for the overall CSO program.