Council approves CMAR to refine costs for Pilot Knoll park upgrades after staff flags failing water and sewer systems

A majority of the Highland Village City Council on Tuesday authorized the city manager to negotiate and execute a construction-manager-at-risk contract with Dean Construction to develop a guaranteed maximum price for the Pilot Knoll Park improvement project.

The move follows staff presentations saying the park's potable water and on-site sewer systems are failing and must be replaced — a condition that sharply increased the project's projected cost. Heather, finance director, said the city is “pricing the full water and sewer upgrade to be 3,600,000.0” and that a standalone water-only replacement would be about $1,200,000 while sanitary sewer service alone was estimated at roughly $2,000,000; with engineering and a modest inflation allowance staff showed a combined, escalated package near $3.6–3.7 million.

Why this matters: Parks staff described Pilot Knoll as a long-used revenue generator for the city that currently hosts RV sites, pavilions, a boat ramp and vendor concessions. Staff said both the sewer and potable water systems are at the end of their useful life; continuing to defer replacement risks recurring service shut‑downs and lost revenue. Council approved bringing on a CMAR to provide more precise bid‑level pricing and value‑engineering suggestions before the council commits to construction dollars.

Staff presentations and debate

Phil, a parks presenter, told the council that the water main serving the park is a 2-inch line constructed from…