Council awards North Star tank contract amid public concerns about water pressure and transparency

The Grantsville City Council voted Feb. 19 to award the contract for a new North Star (Norstrup) water-storage tank to Delcox Contracting (Dale Cox Contracting Inc.) for a prestressed post-tension D115 tank, with the bid amount presented as $3,249,848.

Council discussion and staff presentations described three tank types considered (cast-in-place concrete, prestressed panels wire-wrapped, and prestressed post-tension D115). Matt with Jones & DeMille (the city's contract engineer) explained the engineering rationale for selecting a prestressed tank, citing better watertightness and seismic performance. "In my mind...a prestressed tank, if you can afford it, does tend to be a better constructed tank," Matt said, noting AWWA testing standards that make prestressed tanks less permeable.

Marcus (city staff) and Matt told council the city is currently deficient in water storage under state metrics and needs additional storage to correct that deficiency; the new tank would serve the municipality's Zone 3 and provide additional emergency storage and improved fire flow capacity. "The city currently is deficient in water storage. We are already receiving points against our system for being deficient in storage," a city staff member said.

Public comment immediately before deliberations included a lengthy statement from Michael Van White, who said he was concerned about transparency and management related to water testing and development agreements connected to North Star Ranch. Van White asked the council to be sure it had all the relevant documentation before approving what he described as a roughly $3.25 million payment. "So you guys are writing that $3,250,000 check tonight. Think to yourself how much transparency, how much truth, and you guys have all the information that you need to make those decisions," he said.

Council members asked about differences between bid submissions. City staff said the lowest bidder was not considered because it lacked experience constructing the selected tank type. Matt provided the engineer's estimate, described a pre-bid evaluation that looked at long-term cost benefits, and said the D115 option fit the council's cost-benefit threshold (about a 10% willingness-to-pay margin). The council moved to award the contract; after a second, the mayor called the vote. "Aye. Motion carries," staff recorded.

The action recorded in the meeting minutes: motion to approve resolution 2025-12 awarding the Norstrup/North Star Tank RFP to Delcox Contracting for a D115 prestressed tank, amount $3,249,848; motion seconded; vote recorded as in favor and motion carried. The council did not publish a roll-call vote number in the meeting transcript.

Why it matters: Grantsville has reported a water-storage deficiency; building this tank is intended to address system storage, fire flow and future growth. The contract award concludes the RFP process for a major municipal capital project, while public commenters raised concerns about prior water testing and the adequacy of documentation provided to the council.