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Council authorizes early work package for North Area water tanks project
Summary
Council approved a guaranteed maximum price and engineering contract to begin long‑lead procurement and initial construction for two partially buried 3,000,000‑gallon north‑area potable water tanks intended to double system storage and improve system hydraulics and firefighting reserves.
BROOMFIELD — The City and County of Broomfield authorized early‑work construction and engineering contracts Monday to start building two new potable water storage tanks intended to expand the city’s storage capacity and stabilize distribution pressures.
Water Utilities Director Ken Rutt described the project as two partially buried 3,000,000‑gallon tanks that will increase total potable storage from 6,000,000 to 12,000,000 gallons and help equalize peak demands while improving water quality and firefighting reserves. Rutt said the tanks address a need identified in the city’s system model and regional planning work that spans multiple years.
What council approved
- Resolution 2025‑131: approve Guaranteed Maximum Price amendment for the early work package with Kearney/Garner Construction in the amount of $4,400,000 (early procurement and long‑lead items); passed unanimously 9–0.
- Resolution 2025‑137: approve engineering during construction agreement with Burns & McDonnell for early work (estimated $700,000); passed unanimously 9–0.
- Resolution 2025‑152: adopt an intent‑to‑reimburse resolution indicating the city intends to reimburse early expenditures from future bond proceeds; passed unanimously 9–0.
Why staff requested early work
Rutt told the council the early packet is necessary to procure long‑lead equipment (generators, variable frequency drives, pumps, electronics) and begin selected construction so the project can progress while the city completes bond financings early next year. He described the procurement approach as a Construction Manager/General Contractor selection with a guaranteed maximum price to allow contractor input on constructability and to capture cost savings during design and early construction.
Community impacts and mitigation
Staff said construction access will come off Lowell Boulevard into the open space parcel and will not rely on neighborhood streets, and the project team will mail postcards to properties within about 1,000 feet of the site and hold a neighborhood meeting. On dust mitigation, Rutt said standard construction water‑trucking practices will be used; installing full perimeter noise/dust walls similar to oil‑and‑gas fencing would add an estimated $1.4 million and is not part of the early work package. The contractor is required to follow city hours and traffic restrictions; staff said much of the excavated material will be repurposed on nearby ravines.
Timing and next steps
Staff said the late work package and final engineering will return to council after bond funding is secured; bond issuance for the utility bonds is planned in the bond package in late January–early February 2026. Notices to nearby residents and a neighborhood meeting are scheduled to precede significant on‑site work.
Votes and procurement notes
- Res. 2025‑131 (GMP amendment, early work): passed 9–0. - Res. 2025‑137 (Engineering during construction, early work): passed 9–0. - Res. 2025‑152 (Intent to reimburse): passed 9–0.
Rutt said bringing the construction manager in early has delivered savings on prior projects and that a guaranteed maximum price contract includes a shared savings mechanism (80% city / 20% contractor) for cost underruns discovered during construction.
