Committee backs $260,200 engineering agreement to design Mill River wastewater upgrades

The General Services Public Works Committee on Nov. 25 recommended the City Council approve a $260,200 professional services agreement with JUB Engineers Inc. to design 2024–25 wastewater collection system capital improvements addressing increased flow in the Mill River Basin and capacity constraints along U.S. 95.

The recommendation, made by committee member Kiki and seconded by Christy, was approved by voice vote and placed on the consent calendar. Mike Anderson, identified in the meeting as a wastewater representative, told the committee the $260,200 design fee comes from this year’s $600,000 budget for collection‑system work (staff said the city’s recurring annual investment is typically $850,000–$900,000 but was pared this year to $600,000 to cover prior projects).

“And specifically, this decision will be to approve the agreement with our engineering firm to help us designing a couple of projects. The total cost of these is $260,200,” Anderson said. He described two design efforts aimed at relieving a lift station and the collection line that serve the Mill River area and noted the city prefers gravity lines but uses lift stations where topography requires pumping.

Anderson said the design work is intended to produce shovel‑ready plans so construction can proceed quickly when needed. He said construction is not immediately planned; the city expects to split costs with future developers where appropriate and would return to council when construction is required. Anderson told the committee the city has historically collected a Mill River surcharge and that roughly $340,000 remained in this year’s budget for that improvement project.

Committee members asked about how the surcharge is assessed. Anderson said the surcharge is a one‑time capacity or connection fee paid at permitting rather than an ongoing charge on utility bills: “So when you're building the house, it's known,” he said. He also confirmed JUB was selected through an RFQ process and that staff plan to re‑advertise procurement next year rather than extend a long‑term agreement indefinitely.

The committee’s motion recommended council approval; members approved the recommendation by voice vote and agreed to place the item on the consent calendar. The item will proceed to the full City Council for final action at the next meeting.