Utilities board backs $149,000 construction‑inspection work, orders lake sampling and a second CEI quote

The Lake Placid Utilities Board voted to recommend allocating $149,000 from a $40 million septic‑to‑sewer grant to fund construction‑engineering inspection (CEI) services for two lift‑station projects and took two separate votes ordering additional environmental monitoring and procurement checks.

The recommendation covers CEI work priced at $38,000 for the Marquato Drive lift station (about 240 days of construction plus a $5,000 contingency) and $96,000 for CEI at the South Water Plant (about 300 days of construction plus a $10,000 contingency), officials said. Board members also voted to ask the town council to fund water‑quality sampling near the new plant every six months with at least one sample taken before the plant begins operations, and to obtain a second CEI cost from another vendor in the town’s engineering library.

Board members and staff said the CEI contracts are for oversight and inspection of projects already designed and scheduled to begin in roughly 30–60 days. Staff said CEI deliverables are included in the scope of work for the town’s $40,000,000 septic‑to‑sewer grant and that reimbursements would flow through that grant’s usual reimbursement process.

The board’s discussion focused on three concerns: (1) whether the CEI charges can legally and procedurally be charged to the $40 million grant; (2) whether the quoted CEI fees are reasonable given the size of the tasks and the lack of comparative quotes; and (3) environmental monitoring near Lake June to provide a baseline before the new plant is fully online. Several board members said they were uneasy approving large CEI sums without at least one additional price comparison from another pre‑qualified library vendor.

Leanne Bemis, compliance coordinator for the Town of Lake Placid, told the board that the wastewater plant site already has monitoring wells and that those wells “are sampled quarterly per DEP,” and that the results could be provided to the board for comparison with any lake sampling the board requests.

On the procurement question, staff said the CEI quotes came from a vendor on the town’s pre‑qualified engineering library (identified in the meeting as Penoli/Pernelli). The board approved a motion seeking a second, comparative CEI proposal from another engineering‑library firm; staff estimated collecting another quote could be done within roughly 15 days. The board said doing so would help determine whether the quoted CEI fees are in line with local market rates.

Votes at a glance

- Approve agenda and minutes (Feb. 4): Motion carried (recorded yes votes by board members John Draper, Matt Elliott, Tal Rancourt, Jack Conley and Pam Brewer).

- Request town council fund lake sampling every six months, starting with at least one sample before the plant goes into operation: Motion carried (recorded yes votes by Jack Conley, John Draper, Tal Rancourt, Matt Elliott and Pam Brewer).

- Request a second CEI cost from another engineering‑library vendor: Motion carried (roll call in meeting recorded the motion as carried).

What the actions mean

Staff said the $149,000 recommended allocation would pay supplemental agreements for CEI on the Marquato Drive lift station and the South Water Plant work; those CEI tasks cover day‑to‑day inspections and engineering oversight during construction. Staff also said separate grants fund some of the actual construction work for the lift stations, and that the town planned to use the $40 million septic‑to‑sewer grant to pay CEI costs tied to the set of projects covered in that grant.

Board members pressed staff to confirm in writing that charging CEI to the $40 million grant complies with the grant terms and will stand up to audit. Board members also requested that staff return with a second CEI quote and documentation that the selected vendor was drawn from the town’s vetted engineering library.

Background and next steps

Staff said the wastewater treatment plant construction and related lift‑station upgrades are part of a multi‑grant program and that multiple grants and projects overlap; staff warned that mixing funding sources requires careful documentation. The board instructed staff to: (1) request a town‑council action to authorize the lake sampling program and to ensure one sample is taken before commissioning the plant; (2) obtain a second CEI quote from the town’s engineering library and report the results to the board; and (3) provide documentation that the CEI scope matches grant deliverables and that reimbursements will be sought through the grant process.

The meeting also included an extended discussion about grant priorities for future septic‑to‑sewer phases, and board members asked staff to place the question of grant‑priority wording on a future agenda so the maker of an earlier motion can clarify intent for the town council and the public.

The board moved on to grant updates after the actions above.