Staff recommends the City Council award a construction contract for Schedules I, II, III, and IV of the W.O. 20-44 WRF Nutrient Recovery Improvements project to Dick Anderson Construction, Inc. in the amount of $4,071,000.

The W.O. 20-44: WRF Nutrient Recovery Improvements Project includes four work schedules.  Schedule I of the project ($2,333,000) will install a new volute press, pumps and supporting facilities to produce phosphorous-rich thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS) cake and thereby remove the phosphorous from the Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) treatment processes.  The City plans to blend this cake with compost produced at the planned City landfill facility, thereby providing a beneficial use opportunity for the phosphorus recovered from the treatment processes at the WRF.  Schedule II of the project ($1,050,000) adds a second volute press and supporting facilities to provide the equipment redundancy needed to produce the TWAS cake continuously in the event of short-term or extended equipment maintenance.  In addition to the beneficial use of recovered phosphorous as a nutrient additive to compost produced at the landfill, removing phosphorous from the treatment process benefits the WRF in other ways.  Removal of phosphorous decreases struvite scaling and grit accumulation in digested sludge, the centrifuges, and centrate which reduces maintenance costs and extends equipment life.  Removal of phosphorous also assists the WRF in meeting MPDES Discharge Permit requirements for phosphorous which are especially stringent from August through October and are likely to get more stringent in the future.

Schedule III of the project ($616,500) includes all work associated with the supply and installation of new Surface Waste Activated Sludge (SWAS) pumps, piping, valves, electrical, instrumentation, controls and ancillary elements.  This increased pumping capacity removes more scum and foam from the surface of the bioreactors which improves the performance of the biological treatment process in both the bioreactors and digesters.  Also included in this schedule is work to install new air piping and accessories for the AFT saturation tanks and demolition of the control cabinet and concrete pad in the operation level of the AFT area.

Project Schedule IV ($71,500) includes all work associated with modifications needed to improve the performance of the existing AFT scum collection system by raising the collection beaches into better contact with the scum skimmers.

Bid Alternate A ($200,000) would include all equipment and work to add a new liquid emulsion polymer system to serve the volute dewatering presses.  During pilot testing of the volute presses, the City's current dry polymer system performed well in the production of TWAS cake; therefore, while a liquid polymer system provides staff with more options and flexibility in selecting a polymer offering the highest possible performance, this work is not currently needed for project success.

This project was advertised on April 14, April 21, April 28, May 5 and May 12 in the Yellowstone County News and on the City's website.  Bids were opened on May 16 and one bid was received by Dick Anderson Construction.  Staff reviewed the bid and bid schedules appear reasonable and are within the project cost estimates.

City Council may:

• Approve W.O. 20-44: WRF Nutrient Recovery Improvements Project award (Schedules I, II, III, IV) to Dick Anderson Construction, Inc. in the amount of $4,071,000. or;
• Not approve the award of a contract.  If the project is not awarded, the City will not take advantage of an opportunity to recover and beneficially use phosphorous, a valuable natural resource, from the treatment process at the WRF.  Removing phosphorous from the process streams would also reduce long-term equipment maintenance costs and improve effluent quality for more reliable compliance with the facility's current and likely more stringent future MPDES Discharge Permit limits.

The City received one bid on the project from Dick Anderson Construction, Inc.  Bids on each work schedule were lower than the engineer's estimate:
 

Contractor	Schedule I	Schedule II	Schedule III	Schedule IV	Total Bid	Alternate A
Engineer's Estimate	$2,905,000	$1,356,000	$742,000	$129,000	$5,132,000	$215,000
Dick Anderson Construction	$2,333,000	$1,050,000	$616,500	$71,500	$4,071,000	$200,000

A total of $4 million in sewer funds is budgeted for the project construction in FY23; however, staff has approximately $600,000 in additional funds available from FY23 projects.  Staff recommends award of the four bid schedules totaling $4,071,000, but does not recommend award of Bid Alternate A.