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Budget committee programs engineering and capital for water and sewer: new estimates and scheduled projects discussed
Summary
Committee members reviewed updated water and sewer capital plans that incorporate new engineering recommendations. Staff said engineering and design costs were increased to support projects planned for FY2027 and noted a set of prioritized projects including water storage, Hellgate/Hellgate Loop distribution work and sewer replacements; a West Gr
The budget committee reviewed updated water and sewer capital plans and prioritized engineering and design work that staff says must be funded in upcoming budgets to keep multi-year projects on schedule.
Staff told the committee that engineers' updated water and sewer master plans produced revised capital-improvement recommendations and cost estimates. Committee members said the town needs to budget more for engineering and design in the year prior to a major capital project so staff can move quickly to construction. Staff said it had increased engineering allocations in the draft budget to reflect that approach.
Key points - Engineering and timing: Staff said it has programmed additional engineering/design funds for water and sewer projects so that projects shown in the capital plan for FY2027 can proceed. The committee agreed more frequent engineering expenditures (typically in the year before construction) will be necessary. - Water-storage and coordination: The capital plan includes a placeholder for additional storage; staff noted an outside development (referred to as the Schranz/Strons Estate in the packet) could alter the town's storage needs if that project builds its own tank, but the town must plan for the possibility of building additional storage if the development does not occur. - Sewer priorities: Engineers recommended a number of sewer replacements and upgrades. Staff highlighted a priority replacement (the sagging line between Gold Miners and Peruvian) and a consolidated estimate for broader sewer-system replacement. The packet included updated cost estimates for a West Grizzly sewer extension; staff said coordination with a proposed ski-area cold-storage plumbing project could reduce alignment costs.
What the committee directed - Members asked staff to clarify project naming and ensure engineering costs and timing were explicitly included in the budget pages the council will see. Staff agreed to adjust the capital-project pages to import updated project and engineering numbers correctly.
Ending - The committee emphasized the need to program and pay for engineering ahead of construction years and asked staff to return with the corrected capital pages for council review next week.
