Forest Lake awards $3.39 million Eureka Avenue contract with limited notice due to DNR easement
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Summary
The city awarded Forest Lake Contracting Inc. a $3,387,743.50 contract for Eureka Avenue work outside a DNR easement, issuing a limited notice to proceed to place soil surcharge while state easement clearance remains pending; council approved the award by voice vote.
The Forest Lake City Council voted to award a $3,387,743.50 contract to Forest Lake Contracting Inc. for reconstruction work on Eureka Avenue, approving a limited notice to proceed that lets the contractor place a soil surcharge outside a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) easement while the city continues to secure the DNReasement for the remaining 1,500 feet of roadway.
Ryan (city project staff) told the council five bids were opened and the recommended low bid was approximately $479,120 below the city engineer's estimate and $578,826 below the second‑lowest bid. Staff recommended awarding the contract now to capture current pricing and to authorize limited preconstruction work (soil surcharge placement) outside the DNR portion in 2025. "We feel it's best to proceed with the limited notice and do that work that's outside of the DNR easement so we can capture the pricing to complete that work in 2026," staff said.
City and legal staff warned the council there is an outstanding DNR easement issue that has federal ties, and the Minnesota DNR is awaiting action from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decouple federal involvement. The council was told that without the easement, the city could not complete the middle portion of the project; city counsel described issuing a limited notice to proceed as a way to limit city exposure to a relatively small, recoverable amount if the easement is not granted.
Project timing: staff said placing the surcharge this fall would require the material to settle for approximately 9 months (with close monitoring possibly shortening that window) and would allow major construction activity to begin in July or August of the following year. Staff estimated delay and rebid risk would likely exceed the cost of the limited preconstruction work.
The council approved the award and conditions by voice vote; staff said the city reserves the right to remove the DNR-area work from the contract at no additional cost if necessary.
What happens next: The city will issue a limited notice to proceed covering soil surcharge placement outside the DNR easement area, continue interagency coordination to obtain DNR and federal clearances, and proceed with full construction after easement approval.