Beatatric Council approves HDR contract to advance proposed natural-gas generation project; estimated initial tasks $890,000

The Beatatric City Council voted unanimously on March 16 to retain HDR Incorporated to provide project management, procurement support, permitting assistance and natural gas pipeline coordination for the early phase of a proposed natural-gas-fired electric generation facility.

City staff said HDRs scope covers bid and procurement documents for major equipment, preliminary engineering, air permitting (prevention of significant deterioration permits), environmental permitting, interconnection requests and owner-furnished-equipment design review. The contract presented to council is time-and-materials with an estimated not-to-exceed amount of $890,000 for the tasks in the packet.

Tobias (city staff) told council the city is acting as the lead entity while it seeks partner governments and agencies and that partners would be asked to reimburse the city for its preliminary expenses if they join the project. Council members pressed staff on partner commitments, the timing for equipment orders and the near-term decision window. Staff said potential partners were aware of the timetable and that equipment would likely need to be ordered within roughly 60 to 90 days to meet project delivery schedules, and that full delivery and construction timelines could extend multiple years depending on procurement lead times.

Public comment included questions about cumulative consultant costs and whether previous estimates matched current invoices; staff replied that prior amounts cited covered different task sets and that total city-incurred consultant expenses included other contracts and work reimbursable by future partners. The resolution (7749) passed unanimously; council members said future interlocal agreements would set partner shares and reimbursement terms before later phases proceed.