Sandpoint advances $130 million wastewater rebuild, seeks state loans and cost cuts
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Summary
City staff told council the wastewater treatment plant needs full reconstruction estimated at $130 million; the city applied for state revolving funds and plans value engineering and alternative delivery to reduce cost while negotiating wet-weather treatment approaches with DEQ.
Sandpoint officials said the city's 80-year-old wastewater treatment plant needs full reconstruction, and staff urged council to keep momentum on design and funding.
Public works staff said the project is currently estimated at $130 million and that the city has been invited to apply for state revolving fund loans. The city expects approximately $38 million this cycle and hopes to secure about $60 million across two funding rounds; staff said roughly $70 million still must be identified. "We were invited to apply for $38 million; we're hoping we can get $60 million over this year and next," a public works presenter said.
City engineers told council the high cost reflects unusually large wet-weather flows caused by inflow-and-infiltration (I&I). Staff described a two-track engineering strategy that would separate a reduced-capacity, "dry-weather" treatment train sized to typical flows from a simplified wet-weather train for storm events. The goal is to keep final effluent within permit limits while avoiding oversizing every process to handle rare peak events. Staff said they will seek DEQ agreement on that approach as part of "value engineering" to reduce overall cost.
Project delivery will use alternative approaches to accelerate work. Staff recommended hiring an owner's representative and using a construction manager/general contractor (CMGC) delivery model so design and construction run in parallel. "We'll bring the contractor and the engineer on board at the same time," a public-works leader said, adding that outside consultants will fill project-management roles the city cannot staff in-house.
Timing and next steps: staff said they will proceed with design and SRF applications and plan to pursue other federal funding (USDA, WIFIA) and grants while continuing value-engineering. They told council they will return with detailed cost-reduction options and a recommended procurement approach. The SRF application and resulting loan package will shape how much the city needs to find from other sources and the schedule for moving to construction.
Council members asked about operational impacts, DEQ permit constraints, and how to limit long-term rate and tax impacts. Staff proposed staging design work over this and next fiscal years and urged council to sustain the project as a top capital priority to protect service and meet regulatory requirements.
