Santaquin staff to present guaranteed maximum price for $11.5M–$12M water reclamation upgrade; recommends bonding

Santaquin City staff told the City Council at Tuesday’s meeting they will present a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) on June 3 for upgrades to the city’s water reclamation facility, with current construction estimates of about $11.5 million to $12 million and roughly $9 million available in impact‑fee cash.

The project would increase treatment and storage capacity and replace or upgrade about a dozen functional systems at the WRF, staff said. The work is intended to add roughly 400,000 gallons per day of treatment capacity and address winter storage, pumping, membrane trains, blowers and other equipment. City staff recommended bonding $2.5 million to $3 million to bridge the funding gap and to secure long‑lead items quickly.

“We have about $9,000,000 sitting in the bank in our PTIF account for all impact fee funds that are dedicated to this project,” said Norm, a city staff member. “Our current cost to finish out the project after the final design is about 11 and a half to 12 million dollars.”

Why it matters: the upgrades are driven by growth rather than routine maintenance, staff said, and are funded primarily from development impact fees. Building the project now, staff argued, likely costs less than waiting because equipment and materials are subject to inflation, tariffs and long lead times. Staff said some long‑lead items — notably membranes and large blowers — require early purchase or deposits to hold pricing and delivery slots.

Scope and schedule City staff described roughly 17–18 functional systems at the plant; about a dozen need work or replacement. The planned scope includes a new outside tank, upgrades to bio basins, membranes, pumps and blowers, and improvements to winter storage and the Center Street lift station. The city’s construction approach uses a construction manager/general contractor (CMGC) contract with Vancon; staff paid Vancon roughly $65,000 for pre‑construction services, including value engineering during design.

Jason, a city staff member involved in operations and design, said the plant already contains extra concrete infrastructure that reduces the need to build some structures from scratch: “When we build the WRF, we put a lot of extra concrete in the ground … we’re gonna see a substantial savings from that by doing this project.” John, a public‑works staff member, estimated the in‑ground construction and commissioning will take close to a year and emphasized the plant must remain operational during upgrades.

Funding and procurement Norm told the council the city has banked impact fees and currently holds about $9 million designated for these projects. After value‑engineering work the estimated construction cost is now about $11.5–$12 million, down from earlier estimates near $14.5 million.

“Part of my recommendation is that we look at potentially bonding for 2 and a half to 3 million dollars over the next 90 to a hundred and 20 days,” Norm said, citing municipal bond rates that have decreased from prior years. He said staff will bring a GMP to the June 3 meeting for “as much of the construction as we can fund” with current cash and that early purchases will be needed for items with 90–180 day lead times.

Staff also said the city placed an initial order and down payment for the new membranes about a year ago; a remainder payment is included in the project estimate. Jason confirmed the city bought membranes in advance and that vendors typically try to time deliveries so equipment does not sit in uncontrolled outdoor storage.

Policy and next steps Staff told the council they will present a GMP contract for council consideration on June 3 and pursue bonding to cover remaining costs. City staff said they are already working with engineering and financial consultants to update impact‑fee calculations and the rate study; staff expect updated impact‑fee numbers within roughly 180 days so future development bears its share of project costs.

No formal contract was approved at Tuesday’s meeting; the council heard the presentation and asked technical and financing questions. The council will consider the GMP and any bond proposal at future meetings.