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Council questions $9 million estimate for proposed sewer service building
Summary
At a Committee of the Whole meeting, council members pressed staff and the project engineer on a $9 million preliminary estimate for a proposed sewer service building, raising questions about per-square-foot costs and whether the number includes site work; staff said the figure is an engineering estimate that covers the full site and that final bids will follow design.
Council members pressed staff on July 13 over a $9,000,000 preliminary estimate for a proposed sewer service building, questioning whether the figure was reasonable compared with recent local construction costs. The discussion took place during the Committee of the Whole and focused on how the estimate was calculated and what it covers.
A council member raised the comparison to an older facility and said the older project (35,000 square feet, built 17 years ago) cost about $3.55 million — roughly $101 per square foot — and asked how the city reached $360 per square foot for a smaller, 25,000-square-foot building. "I feel like we're kinda shooting for a Rolex here when a Timex did the job," the council member said, urging clearer cost justification.
Public Service Director Matt responded that the $9 million figure is a preliminary engineering estimate prepared by the engineer who did the preliminary design (JDI). He told the council the estimate covers "everything in the footprint of the new build" — the building envelope plus site work such as drainage pits, concrete, asphalt and equipment — not only the building's interior finishes. Matt said final design work and a competitive bid process will produce more precise pricing and that change orders are common on such projects.
Finance materials in the packet also show a design authorization of roughly $208,750 for the project; staff noted that the packeted figure was for design work and that final bids and any change orders could alter total costs. Council members who work in construction and those who reviewed historical cost indexes said construction pricing has risen significantly since 2009 and especially since 2020, complicating direct comparisons with older buildings.
Next steps: staff and the city’s project engineer will proceed with final design work, refine cost estimates and then seek bids; council members indicated they expect more detailed cost breakdowns before committing to construction funding.
