Staff recommends that City Council award a contract for W.O. 22-01, 2022 Water and Sewer Main Replacement, Schedules 1 & 2--Water to Askin Construction in the amount of $3,795,999 and Schedules 3 and 4--Sewer to COP Construction, LLC in the amount of $2,934,748.

W.O. 22-01, 2022 Water and Sewer Main Replacement, will replace approximately 9,580 feet of existing water main and 10,700 feet of existing sanitary sewer. Water mains being replaced were selected based on several criteria including age, break history, lead joint pipe, lead services, and undersized water mains.  This project will replace water mains that are between 58 and 106 years old, remove and replace approximately 141 lead services, upsize 4-inch diameter and 6-inch diameter water mains to 8-inch size, resulting in the reduction of maintenance costs from water main breaks.  Upsizing to 8-inch diameter water main will also provide improved fire flows to adjacent properties.  The sewer mains being replaced with this project were selected based on age, video inspection condition assessment, root intrusion history, and sewer back up history.  This project will replace sanitary sewer mains that are between 100 and 120 years old made of clay tile.  These sewer mains exhibit broken and cracked pipe and many sections need yearly root intrusion removal and maintenance.

The project was advertised on February 18, February 25, and March 4, 2022, in the Yellowstone County News and on the City's website.  Bids were opened on March 8, 2022, and 3 bids were received.  For Schedules 1 and 2, Askin Construction submitted the lowest, responsible bid. For Schedules 3 and 4, COP Construction, LLC. submitted the lowest, responsible bid.

City Council may:

• Award W.O. 22-01, 2022 Water and Sewer Main Replacement, to Askin Construction in the amount of $3,795,999 for Schedules 1 and 2, and to COP Construction, LLC. in the amount of $2,934,748 for Schedules 3 and 4; or,
• Do not award a contract and reject all bids.  If the project is not awarded, the City's water mains and sanitary sewer collection systems in these areas will continue to be unreliable and will experience ongoing maintenance problems and expenses.

The following bids were received:

Contractor	Schedules 1 & 2 Water Bid Amount	Schedules 3 & 4 Sewer Bid Amount
Western Municipal Construction	$4,495,685.00	$3,090,888.00
COP Construction, LLC	$4,215,685.00	$2,934,748.00
Askin Construction	$3,795,999.00	No Bid

The project was budgeted in FY22 using water and wastewater funds. 

The water portion of the project was budgeted at $2,987,565.  A portion of the water budget shortfall will be supplemented with water funds from the 2022 Lead Service Replacement Project. This additional funding will go toward the portion of the project that has lead service replacements (all streets except 10th Avenue North).  The remainder of the water budget shortfall will be supplemented with funds from an ARPA grant that the City has applied for.  It is anticipated that the ARPA grants will be announced in June 2022.  If the City is not awarded the ARPA grant, the water main replacement for 10th Avenue North will be removed from this construction contract and will be replaced in one of the upcoming water replacement projects.

The sewer portion of the project is within the FY22 budgeted amount.