Santa Rosa water capital update: specialized projects draw fewer bidders, staff say

Krista Segenthaler, deputy director of engineering services for Transportation and Public Works, told the Board of Public Utilities the city has finished foundation work on the Reclamation Pump Station E building replacement and is awaiting prefabricated components before continuing. “We have finished the foundation work for this project,” Segenthaler said.

Segenthaler listed several projects either under construction or in procurement, including Country Manor Sewer Lift Station (upgrades to 3-phase power and a backup generator), Rock Creek sewer/water/storm drain improvements near Montgomery High School, electrical upgrades to Pump Station 9 and radio links tying reservoirs to pump stations. She said the department has been increasing project delivery and highlighted roughly $20 million in water-focused pavement projects and that some projects bid under engineer’s estimates.

Board member Mullins asked why large multimillion-dollar projects sometimes draw only one or two bidders. Segenthaler and Director Burke responded that bidder counts vary by project type and time of year; trunk lining is more specialized, which likely reduces the pool of contractors, while other projects have attracted five to six bidders.

Segenthaler also noted upcoming advertisements for Fulton Road sewer main improvements and the Delta Pond standby generator, targeted seismic project advertising in May, and summer plans to advertise LTP annex boiler replacements, the Kelly Farm Mitigation Bank, and Laguna Treatment Plant flood protection work. She closed by thanking the project teams for recent accomplishments, including the Lower Colgan Creek Restoration phase 3 award and an upcoming May 14 ribbon cutting.

The presentation included project-delivery metrics and procurement details but did not change any formal policies at today’s meeting.