Boerne council approves $5.3 million construction contract and $231,060 construction-administration amendment for reclaimed water expansion
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Summary
The Boerne City Council on April 14 approved a $5.3 million construction award and a $231,060 contract amendment to advance the reclaimed water facilities expansion at the Old San Antonio Road wastewater treatment and recycling center. Council emphasized that potable-reuse planning will be handled separately from construction work.
The Boerne City Council approved two separate measures on April 14 to move forward with expansion of the city’s reclaimed water facilities at the Old San Antonio Road wastewater treatment and recycling center. The council voted 4–0 to award the construction contract to Avila Construction Group for an amount not to exceed $5,300,000 and earlier approved a related professional-services amendment authorizing construction contract administration for an amount not to exceed $231,060.60.
Andrew Wilkinson, the city’s utilities engineer, told the council the expansion will include a new 600,000-gallon ground storage tank, a new pump station building, pump improvements for the transfer pumps and related site work including driveway, sidewalk and fencing. “The reclaim expansion project will include a new, 600,000-gallon ground storage tank which will really help as peak demand increases in the reclaim system,” Wilkinson said.
Councilor Macaluso asked how planning for any future direct potable reuse would be integrated with the current construction work and whether that planning would require a separate contract. Macaluso said he wanted to avoid duplicative spending if master planning and construction oversight overlapped. “Is that a separate contract for assessment and planning? What is—how does that gonna fit in there?” Macaluso asked.
City staff said the $231,060 amendment covers construction-phase services only; broader master planning and any feasibility work for direct potable reuse would be handled separately and would require additional evaluation. Mike Brinkman, the city’s utilities director, cautioned that direct potable reuse would be “at the end of this train” and would “likely incur more treatment processes that would have to be evaluated over time.”
Wilkinson said the city received eight bids for the construction project; the low bidder, Avila Construction Group, submitted an amount around $5.18 million. The council approved a not-to-exceed authorization of $5,300,000 to allow for unforeseen changes during construction. Contract time was listed at 300 calendar days; staff said, if notice to proceed is issued this month, work could wrap up in early next year.
Both measures passed on unanimous voice votes. The council did not specify the project’s funding breakdown in the meeting record.
