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City rejects lone bid for wastewater plant upgrades after engineer's estimate widely exceeded
Summary
The commission rejected the single bid of $7.145 million for improvements at the wastewater treatment plant after staff and the project's engineer said the bid exceeded the engineer's $5.55 million estimate; staff will present alternate solutions.
The Garden City Commission voted March 18 to reject the lone construction bid for a package of wastewater treatment plant upgrades after the single bid substantially exceeded the project's engineer's estimate.
Background: Staff received one bid—$7,145,000—from MJE LLC for a package that included construction of an extraneous flow basin, upgrades to polymer feed systems and replacement of ultraviolet (UV) disinfection equipment. The engineer's combined estimate for the overall project was $5,550,100; the bid exceeded that figure by about 28.7 percent.
The engineer and staff outlined the major cost drivers. The extraneous flow basin was estimated at $3,243,300 but the bid line for that item was $5,175,000 and included basin construction, earthwork, process piping and wet-weather pumping. The polymer and UV work came in lower than the estimate in the bid tabulation but did not offset the basin overrun.
Engineer Sarah Unruh told the commission the price rises were driven in part by updated equipment costs and design changes; she said some options exist but that reducing the basin size alone likely would not bring the project down to earlier bond assumptions. "To say if we'd be able to get it in the $1,700,000, I would say probably not, given the fact of the cost of the equipment in particular," Unruh said, referring to a prior budget figure included in a bond rating document.
Action and next steps: Staff recommended rejecting the bid and returning with alternative solutions; the commission approved that recommendation. City staff said they will present revised options, which may include redesign, rebidding broken-out components, or other measures to address wet-weather flow management while controlling cost.
Fiscal context: The city's 2024 revised budget had included $1,522,000 for portions of the polymer and UV work; those funds were not spent because the project did not commence in 2024. The city noted general-obligation bond proceeds approved in 2024 were intended to support related work but that the bid results exceeded earlier assumptions.
The commission's rejection was recorded on a voice vote and the mayor directed staff to return with alternative options at a future meeting.
