Forest Lake awards Eureka Avenue reconstruction contract to low bidder for $3.39 million with limited notice to proceed
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Summary
After reviewing five bids, the city recommended and the council approved a $3,387,743.50 award to Forest Lake Contracting, Inc. for Eureka Avenue work; a 1,500‑foot segment on DNR land remains pending easement approval, so the city authorized a limited notice to proceed for surcharge placement outside the DNR parcel.
City staff recommended awarding the Eureka Avenue reconstruction contract to Forest Lake Contracting, Inc., the low bidder, and the Forest Lake City Council approved the award during its regular meeting.
Staff reported five bids were opened and the combined base bid plus alternates 3 and 4 from Forest Lake Contracting totaled $3,387,743.50, approximately $479,120 lower than the city’s engineer estimate and more than $578,000 lower than the second‑place bid. The recommended award excludes work in a 1,500‑foot corridor that lies on Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) property; that easement is under federal review and remains unresolved.
To manage timing and cost risk, staff recommended a limited notice to proceed that would authorize placement of a soil surcharge outside the DNR easement in 2025 so that the surcharge can settle ahead of colder weather; completion of the remaining work would occur after the DNR easement is obtained. Staff warned the DNR/Federal review process has delayed the schedule and that delaying the entire project to 2027 could increase costs (staff estimated roughly $265,000 in added costs if the remaining work were delayed a year).
City counsel and staff explained the limited notice to proceed permits the contractor to perform specific preliminary tasks and encumber relatively small sums (low hundreds of thousands), rather than fully authorizing all construction expenditures before the DNR easement is resolved.
Why it matters: awarding now captures current competitive pricing for much of the work and reduces the risk of significantly higher costs if the city rebids the whole project in 2027. If the DNR easement is not obtained, the council retained the right to remove the DNR‑parcel work from the contract at no additional cost.
The council moved to award the contract with the conditions staff recommended; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
