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Engineers present $4M-plus street and drainage package; commission agrees to seek bids and grants
Summary
City engineers presented updated plans and cost estimates for Riverside Park Road drainage and settlement repairs, discussed a DOT grant and Bank of North Dakota financing, and the commission voted to advertise bids while some members warned the estimate may be an expensive short-term fix.
Engineers and staff updated the Washburn City Commission on the Riverside Park Road improvement project, describing drainage fixes, removal and replacement of settled pavement, and a longitudinal valley gutter to collect surface runoff. The city has secured a DOT Special Oil Funds grant and is pursuing additional financing options, and staff proposed advertising for bids with a scheduled bid opening on Aug. 6.
The engineering representative said the project design had been revised after a design review meeting and that the bid schedule would allow a contractor time to begin work before the end of the construction season. He described the estimate, grant offsets, and potential financing through Bank of North Dakota. “The plans and specs were updated … the contractor would have until early next construction season to finish, although we would prefer if the contractor got the work done this year,” the presenter said.
Commissioners debated the project cost and scope. One commissioner characterized the city’s estimated out-of-pocket cost after grant awards as an expensive stopgap, calling it “a very, very expensive band aid,” and urged exploration of geotechnical study options and targeted repairs. Engineers said geotechnical investigations had been quoted previously and that some measures (including a multi-site geotech instrumentation study) would add significant cost but could better identify slip planes and long-term stability.
Staff described possible funding scenarios, including Bank of North Dakota financing at favorable interest rates and reapplying for DOT flex-fund grants; they also noted $125,000 in pre-design funding earmarked for the project that could reduce the city’s share. The presenter recommended separating sanitary-sewer extensions from the street/drainage contract to avoid adding Davis-Bacon, Buy-America and other SRF requirements that would markedly increase project cost and contracting complexity.
The commission voted to proceed with advertising the project for bids so the city could obtain actual pricing and then decide whether to award a contract. Staff said final plans, a 100% cost estimate and a public-input meeting would follow before awarding work.
Next steps: staff will finalize plans and specifications, advertise for bids, conduct a public input meeting on the project, and pursue reallocation of BND and DOT grant funding as appropriate before returning with bids and financing recommendations.
