Whitefish council unanimously approves $2,346,332 contract for South Whitefish water tank, phase 2

The Whitefish City Council on March 16 unanimously approved awarding a $2,346,332 contract to Newman Construction for phase 2 of the South Whitefish water storage project, the acting chair announced.

City staff presented the phase 2 scope — a water main crossing Highway 93 up to the elevated tank — and recommended awarding the bid to Newman Construction. Craig, the staff presenter, said five bids were opened on Feb. 18, 2026, and “we have found Newman, the low bidder on that project, to be qualified.” He told the council the low bid was $2,346,332 and that "this portion of the project ... will be paid for with cash," not by the State Revolving Fund (SRF) that covered the earlier elevated tank portion.

Why it matters: the work will extend water service infrastructure to the South Whitefish tank and includes a major crossing of Highway 93. That crossing and the cash funding source were highlighted by staff as material elements of the phase 2 award.

Details of the recommendation and numbers: Craig said the project received five bids and that Newman Construction submitted the low bid of $2,346,332. Craig also stated the bid was “about $250,000 below the engineer’s estimate of $22,600,000.0,” as recorded in the transcript. The engineer supporting the recommendation was identified in the materials as AE2S.

A council member moved to award the contract to Newman Construction for $2,346,332; Craig seconded the motion. The acting chair called for the vote and said the motion passed unanimously. The transcript records the result as unanimous but does not record individual roll-call votes.

The meeting closed with brief council remarks and an announcement that the council will hold a growth policy meeting next Monday. The chair adjourned the session after roughly ten minutes.