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Bids for Lincoln Park stormwater work far exceed estimates; staff proposes accepting low bid to preserve ARPA grant
Summary
Three bids for phase A part 1 (Lincoln Park) arrived well above the $2.1M engineer's estimate (low bids ~ $3.4M–$5.2M). Staff recommended awarding the low bid plus 10% contingency to Sagres Construction to avoid risking $4M in ARPA/DEQ grant funds that must be spent by the end of 2026; adopting that path would require reallocating SLAF funds and push later Greening of Lincoln phases out on the 10‑year outlook.
Public Works presented a procurement update on the Greening of Lincoln project at the Feb. 2 work session, reporting that construction bids for phase A part 1 (Lincoln Park stormwater improvements) were substantially higher than the engineers’ revised estimate.
Staff said the engineers’ estimate stood at $2.1 million after design additions, but the public bid opening returned offers of about $3.4 million, $3.8 million and $5.2 million. “We received 3 bids, which were all significantly above that $2.1M engineer's estimate,” a DPW presenter said during the meeting.
DPW and consultants evaluated causes—unit‑cost estimating limits, small-quantity effects, higher market pricing for materials and specialty components, and contractor risk premiums. Staff recommended against rebidding, saying additional solicitation was unlikely to produce materially lower prices and could jeopardize a federal ARPA/DEQ grant. The city has $4.0M in ARPA funds allocated to the project that must be closed out by Dec. 31, 2026.
To preserve the ARPA funding, staff proposed executing the apparent low bid (Sagres Construction Corporation) plus a 10% construction contingency. That use of ARPA would consume most or all of the $4M ARPA allocation and prompt reallocation of state SLAF stormwater funds to other phases (Legion Hall, Walden Court), leaving later Greening phases C and D unfunded and moved into a 10‑year CIP outlook.
Council members expressed concern about the scale of the cost increase (from earlier $500,000 planning figures to current low bid around $3.7M) and asked staff to confirm whether reallocating SLAF funds away from projects like Harrison and Sherrow is justified based on relative stormwater benefit. Staff said they prioritized the western Lincoln corridor for stormwater need but will continue grant discussions with Virginia DEQ and seek additional funding to preserve other projects.
Next steps: staff will bring a contract authorization forward as recommended (apparently for the low bid plus contingency) and present an updated CIP financing plan; council asked for additional analysis comparing stormwater benefits across the portfolio before confirming reallocation of SLAF funds.
