Minnetrista council greenlights design for southern water treatment plant, authorizes geotechnical work

The Minnetrista City Council on June 17 approved plans and specifications to advance design of a new water treatment plant in the city’s southern area and authorized a geotechnical survey to inform foundation design and construction estimates.

The council approved the AE2S task order to proceed with design by a 5‑0 vote after a presentation from Grant Myer, who was standing in for AE2S project staff. Myer said the planned facility would add roughly 2,100 gallons per minute of treatment capacity — about 3 million gallons per day — to treat two new wells and to provide redundancy if the existing plant is taken offline.

Mayor Lisa Whalen and several council members pressed the project team on timing and cost. Whalen said the city wants to move design forward faster to improve bidding timing and limit cost escalation. Council members raised concern that unknown soil or foundation conditions could materially change construction costs and asked for the geotechnical work to proceed before final design decisions on deep foundations are made.

Staff told the council that geotechnical results would be necessary to confirm whether deep foundations or other structural solutions would be required; AE2S estimated total design hours at just under 4,800 hours and outlined that preliminary design represents roughly one‑third of that work. City staff reported a preliminary estimate that a concrete tank option could be about $4 million less than a steel vessel alternative, but noted that final decisions will depend on site conditions and long‑term operational considerations.

To move the project forward, the council authorized City Administrator Jasper Bridal to execute a contract for geotechnical and surveying services up to $15,000. Staff indicated they expect the geotechnical work to be completed within about six weeks of authorization; council members discussed convening a small, special meeting of two or three council members to authorize the work sooner than the next regular meeting. The council approved the contract authorization by voice vote (5‑0).

Following that authorization, the council voted 5‑0 to approve the task order (AE2S Task Order No. 11) to proceed with design and preparation of plans and specifications.

Council members emphasized a cautious approach to cost, noting Minnetrista has roughly 2,200 water accounts (about 97% residential) and limited new‑growth rate, so the project budget needs to be conservative. Mayor Whalen said the council is targeting a utilitarian, not luxury, design.

The next procedural steps are completion of the geotechnical report and continued design work by AE2S; staff will return with any significant design changes or cost impacts identified by the geotechnical results. The council did not adopt final construction contract awards at this meeting.