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Melbourne council approves engineering work as city prepares nearly $2 million sewer upgrade
Summary
Council approved Veenstra & Kimm to proceed with preliminary engineering for a sewer-plant upgrade required by the city's NPDES permit. The engineer said a controlled-discharge design is the preferred option and the upgrade is currently estimated at nearly $2 million.
Melbourne's City Council voted to approve an agreement with Veenstra & Kimm to continue preliminary engineering for a required upgrade to the city's sewer treatment plant. The decision follows an engineering presentation that said Melbourne is no longer eligible for disadvantaged-city status and must meet conditions of its NPDES permit.
Olivia Patton, an engineer with Veenstra & Kimm, told the council the city has been planning for months with its sewer committee and evaluated several treatment options, including SAGR and LEMNA systems. Patton and the committee recommended a controlled discharge system as the most feasible approach because it would cost roughly half of the SAGR/LEMNA alternatives while still meeting permit requirements. The engineering estimate for the preferred option is nearly $2 million.
The controlled-discharge plan would require enlarging the lagoon's first cell, upgrading aeration and relining the three-cell system, and acquiring additional contiguous real property and rights-of-way to allow the enlargements. Patton said the city previously operated a controlled-discharge system but did not have capacity to hold waste for the six-month period now required by the permit. The engineer said the city has worked on reducing infiltration and inflow (I&I) through lining upgrades.
Patton said the Intended Use Plan (IUP) must be filed with the Department of Natural Resources this month and that bids for construction could start as early as December 2025. City Clerk Pothast told the council the project will most likely be financed, creating long-term debt service for the city, and that Melbourne is unlikely to qualify for CDBG-type grants because its median household income exceeds program thresholds.
Council members approved the agreement with Veenstra & Kimm to continue preliminary design and planning work. Patton said she will investigate a 0% Planning & Design loan through the Iowa Economic Development Authority to help with planning costs.
The council did not vote on a construction contract; Patton emphasized that, because of the project's scope, each element will require public competitive bidding and the city must select the most responsive and responsible bidders.
The city will return to the council with further details as the IUP filing, financing options and bid documents are developed.
