Crown Point City officials told the Board of Public Works and Safety on June 18 that draft State Revolving Fund rankings put two city projects at the top of the statewide list and the board approved related contract and disbursement actions.

The SRF draft rankings are out, and Crown Point is number 1 and number 4 on the ranking list, the city’s utilities presenter said, noting the downtown interceptor earned the No. 1 spot. The board unanimously approved SRF disbursement number 43, $9,807, for work on the city’s Phase 4 water project.

Why it matters: SRF preferred financing typically reduces borrowing costs for top-ranked projects. The presenter said projects in the top group have previously received preferred financing that cut interest rates substantially. That financing treatment is why the board moved forward with closing-related paperwork and task orders at the meeting.

The board also approved a task order (identified in the meeting as task order 2025Dot04) to advance the downtown interceptor project and to issue the notice of award and notice to proceed tied to a June 30 closing. The city told the board it had identified Atlas Excavating as the apparent low bidder and negotiated a $3,000,000 credit to allow the contractor to operate crews at two locations simultaneously. The presenter said the two-location approach shortens the schedule and reduces the overall contract duration according to contractor feedback.

To deliver two active crews while maintaining construction oversight, the city said it will revise its inspection staffing: remove one junior resident project representative, add a second senior RPR, and add an on-site construction coordinator. The presenter described a budgetary increase for inspection and coordination of $960,000 over the two-year project but said that, after the $3,000,000 contractor credit, the net budgetary savings would be about $2,000,000. Board members asked about community disruption and were told the two-site plan will mean two traffic-control areas but a shorter overall construction period compared with a single-crew, multi-year approach.

Project sequencing and schedule: staff said Atlas Excavating has begun coordination work at its own risk — confirming elevations and hiring a subsurface utility excavation firm — and the official notice to proceed is planned for June 30. The city estimated confirmation work would take roughly 60 days and said it does not expect digging to begin until August or September.

Other utility updates approved or reported at the meeting included: the lead service line replacement project (bids awarded; closing and preconstruction meetings scheduled for June 30), and ongoing work at the wastewater treatment plant where change-order work and software/control programming remain to be completed before final retainage releases. The presenter said one skylight replacement arrived and warranty repairs had been made; staff expect a small programming change order to optimize gate sequencing that will be paid from existing project funds.

Board votes: the SRF disbursement request and the task order for the interceptor were each presented, moved, seconded and approved by voice vote during the meeting. The board did not record individual member roll-call votes on those items in the transcript.

What’s next: staff said remaining contracts and supporting documentation will be provided to SRF before closing and that construction coordination will continue as crews finalize preconstruction surveys and locate subsurface utilities.