Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Buhl approves engineering work as water tower PER is revised to meet USDA-RD funding rules
Summary
Council approved JPJ Engineering's proposal for water and sewer improvements (engineering fee $50,407) and directed revisions to the Preliminary Engineering Report so USDA-RD funds can be reallocated to cover water tower construction costs; the water tower must be re-bid under federal rules.
The Buhl City Council on Dec. 16 approved an engineering proposal from JPJ Engineering for water and sanitary sewer system improvements and received an update on revisions to the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) required by USDA Rural Development (USDA-RD).
City Engineer Jamnick told the council bids for the water tower exceeded prior estimates and that federal Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) funds administered through USDA-RD will need to be reallocated to cover the construction shortfall. The amended PER must be finalized for regulatory and environmental approvals, including State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) review; the water tower portion will need to be re-bid under federal procurement rules. Jamnick said some optional elements (for example, Memorial Drive reconstruction) may be removed from the immediate scope to prioritize water and sewer improvements.
Council approved the JPJ Engineering proposal for the water tower site improvements in the amount of $50,407 plus hourly charges for construction management and bidding. The full project was described in materials as having a total estimated cost of $1,540,000; the council approved the engineering fee and directed staff to proceed with the next steps required for USDA-RD submittal and re-bidding.
Staff also reviewed the Minnesota Department of Health's 2025 sanitary survey for the Buhl Public Water System; no deficiencies were observed and bacteriological sampling returned negative results.
Next steps: finalize the amended PER for USDA-RD review, comply with federal bidding requirements for the water tower construction, and proceed with the engineering and construction management tasks approved at the meeting.
