Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities Water Sewer topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee reviews three utility items: reclaimed water bid, engineering on-call contract and WRF amendment
Summary
Committee members discussed a $7.2 million low bid for reclaimed water distribution improvements that creates a roughly $427,000 budget shortfall; considered a $440,000 on-call engineering contract; and approved a $196,000 amendment for Water Reclamation Facility construction services.
City staff updated the Parks and Public Works Committee on March 11 about three water and sewer items: a low bid recommendation for the reclaimed water distribution system improvements, a proposed on-call engineering contract with RH2 Engineering, and an amendment for services during construction at the Water Reclamation Facility (WRF).
Staff said the reclaimed water distribution improvements (agenda bill 25048) received three bids; the apparent low bidder was Prospect Construction with a bid of approximately $7.2 million (including tax), about 3% below the engineer’s estimate and 7% below the bid average. Staff said the contract as bid would create a budget shortfall of about $427,000 and additional cost for construction management has not yet been bid. Staff reported the project has an $8.6 million loan from the Department of Ecology, and staff have requested an additional $500,000 from Ecology to address higher construction costs. The project is on schedule for completion before the Ecology deadline of June 30, 2026. Administration recommended awarding the construction contract to Prospect Construction, subject to addressing the budget shortfall and construction management funding.
Committee members pressed staff for detail on the shortfall. A committee member asked whether stairs to the reservoir (rather than a ladder) and inflation in metal and electrical equipment accounted for the increase; staff said Ecology and the project engineer supported including stairs to provide safer and more frequent access for cleaning and inspection as part of Ecology’s conditions tied to the project’s chlorination exemption. Staff said bid detail is available in the bid tabulation and that a timeline of cost estimates would be provided to show where increases occurred.
Committee members declared the reclaimed water agenda bill nonconsent at the meeting; staff said Jeff Hamlin will present the item at the upcoming council meeting. No formal committee vote awarding the contract was recorded at this meeting.
The committee also considered an on-call contract with RH2 Engineering for a set of water and sewer engineering tasks including pressure-zone conversion planning, downtown fire-flow modeling, Canyon Springs treatment capacity evaluation, alternatives for utility crossings at the SR 202 bridge over the Snoqualmie River, pump capacity evaluation at the 1040 booster pump station, and support for the WRF operations and NPDES permit renewal. The proposed on-call contract totaled $440,000 to be spent over three years. Committee members sought clarity on how the $440,000 for on-call work relates to larger project budgets: for example, staff said the pressure-zone conversion project shows a beginning budget of $237,000, city staff time recorded at about $513,000 to date, and the RH2 on-call contract would add roughly $34,040 against that program line. Staff said many CIP estimates date to 2017 and need project-level scoping and updated estimates; the on-call contract is intended to refine scope and costs early in design.
On the Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) Phase 3 services-during-construction amendment, staff said RH2’s additional scope is to complete SCADA commissioning and document project completion. The amendment amount is $196,000 and staff said budget exists in the current project budget to cover it. Remaining related work includes the Kimball Creek Lift Station, which is already contracted and expected to begin within about a month. Committee members elected nonconsent for some larger-value general contracts by default but, after discussion, approved the $196,000 amendment for WRF construction services. Staff said Jeff Hamlin will carry these items to the council meeting next week if committee members have further questions.
Recorded routine committee actions at the meeting included approval of the committee agenda and approval of the minutes. The committee did not record an award of the reclaimed water construction contract at this meeting; staff recommended award to Prospect Construction but the item was pulled from consent for further review at council.
