Riviera Beach outlines $553 million five-year utility capital plan; water plant, intercoastal crossings and well work prioritized

Randy Sherman, the city’s chief financial officer, and Joshua Neiman, executive utility director for the Riviera Beach Utility Special District, presented a consolidated five‑year capital improvement plan that staffs said will prioritize the new water treatment plant, major conveyance crossings and a program of well‑field rehabilitation.

Sherman told the council the city’s general government capital program includes about $142.2 million in projects already in progress and roughly $186 million recommended across the five‑year plan. On the utility side, Neiman said projects in progress total about $472 million and the recommended five‑year portfolio is roughly $553 million, including previously approved financing for the new water treatment plant.

The plan’s largest items discussed at the meeting included:

- The new water treatment plant: staff reiterated the project remains on the utility program and that the joint venture contractor will deliver a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) package to the city this fall, with additional review and possible adjustments anticipated through December or January. Suzanne Mechler, part of the CDM Smith/Haskell joint venture, said the GMP submissions are due in September and that a period of review with the owner’s representative and city staff will follow.

- Well field rehabilitation and controls: Neiman described a program to assess, rehabilitate and in some cases relocate or modify the city’s 28 surficial wells (several already under work). Staff said the work is intended to improve raw water quality and production; Neiman recommended running the well‑rehab program in parallel with the new plant rather than delaying the plant to wait for the wells to be improved.

- Pretreatment (microfiltration) debate: Brown & Caldwell owner’s representative Nigel Grace told the council the most recent estimate for prefiltration equipment added to the plant was about $28 million. Staff described this as an expensive but time‑certain mitigation given remaining uncertainty about raw water quality; they also said aggressive well rehabilitation and raw water transmission maintenance could reduce or eliminate the need for the microfiltration system over a longer time horizon, but that outcome was not guaranteed within the plant schedule.

- Intercoastal water main and force main crossing: Neiman said the combined water main and wastewater force main augmentation and replacement project is under design with a projected cost of about $14.5 million and an anticipated construction completion in December 2027. The alignment discussed would land near Phil Foster Park and include a seawall replacement at Lakeview Park when work is complete.

- Lift Station 47 rehabilitation and emergency power: staff described Lift Station 47 (near Haverhill) as a critical, older station needing rehabilitation and emergency generators. Project estimates for the station and generators were presented (roughly $16.2 million for the station rehabilitation and about $6.2 million for emergency power capacity).

Funding and schedule notes: Sherman reviewed the mix of funding sources (penny sales tax, pay‑as‑you‑go, gas tax, CRA contributions, bonds and grant awards). He said the utility has bond capacity and that about $457 million in bond funding was included in the five‑year utility forecasts. Neiman provided a tentative procurement and delivery timeline: solicitation for the intercoastal and force main in May 2026, Lift Station 47 construction procurement in April 2026 (design or design‑build to be determined), a well‑field rehabilitation contract targeted for January 2026, and the final GMP for the plant expected by late 2025 to early 2026.

Why it matters: The utility program contains the city’s largest capital commitments and includes projects that staff said are essential to delivering reliable water and wastewater service, hardening infrastructure against coastal and operational risks, and meeting regulatory requirements.

What staff flagged as next steps: staff recommended (1) moving forward with the GMP review and finalization process; (2) beginning a comprehensive well‑field master plan via the city’s professional services agreements; and (3) advancing the intercoastal crossing and Lift Station 47 procurements to keep the five‑year schedule on track.

Provenance: Topic introduction excerpt: "Good evening, everyone. Again, Randy Sherman, chief financial officer for the city. Each year, the city is required to adopt a 5 year capital improvement program." (transcript timestamp ~1927)

Topic finish excerpt: "Our guaranteed maximum, GMP number 5, for our water treatment plant is, expected to be sometime in December, or early January. And that is the final GMP that will actually be, the 1 that will build the brand new water treatment plant." (transcript timestamp ~3991)