Staff recommends that City Council award a contract for Schedules 1, 2, and 3 for W.O. 23-12 Zone 4 Pump Station and Waterline Improvements, to Grade A Civil, LLC. in the amount of $6,921,866.

W.O. 23-12 Zone 4 Pump Station and Waterline Improvements was bid with three (3) Schedules and a Bid Alternate for an additional pump.  Schedules 1 and 2 are the new waterline and pump station work on 58th Street West. The bid alternate is the addition of a 3rd pump that would be needed in the future. During the summer when water demand peaks, Chapple Pump Station runs at capacity and is unable to meet demand in Zone 4.  W.O. 23-12 Zone 4 Pump Station and Waterline Improvements will provide additional pumping capacity in Zone 4. The new waterline will run along 58th Street West and connect the 20-inch main in Grand Avenue to the 20-inch main in Rimrock Road.  The pump station will be located along the new waterline between Grand Avenue and Rimrock Road on 58th Street West. This project was recommended as an immediate need in the 2023 Water Master Plan and is an approved FY24 CIP project.  Furthermore, this pump station will provide water directly to the Zone 4 tank and pump station located above Ironwood Subdivision.  An upcoming CIP project will extend water from the Ironwood Pump station to serve Zone 6 on top of the rims.  In other words, the Zone 4 pump station is a precursor to the extension of the Zone 6 pipeline that will serve the southern end of the Inner Belt Loop and provide resilience to areas along Highway 3.

Schedule 3 is W.O. 23-39 Grand Avenue Waterline Replacement and is a required project component along with W.O. 23-12. The project includes replacing a short section of 12-inch main with a 20-inch main along Grand Avenue between 41st Street West and Shiloh Road. Without upsizing, the low pressures will exist in the surrounding areas while the new Zone 4 Pump Station is in operation.  This short section of watermain replacement was bid with the pump station for competitive pricing. 

The project was advertised on March (8, 15, 22, 29), April (5, 12, 19, 26), and May 3, 2024, in the Yellowstone County News and on the City's website. Bids were opened on May 7th, 2024, and 4 bids were received. Grade A Civil submitted the lowest responsible bid. Staff recommends awarding Schedules 1, 2, and 3 and not awarding the bid alternate.  The pump included in the bid alternate is not needed at this time and there is not sufficient budget to award the alternate.

City Council may:

• Award W.O. 23-12 Zone 4 Pump Station and Waterline Improvements Schedules 1, 2, and 3 to Grade A Civil, LLC, in the amount of $6,921,866; or,
• Do not award a contract and reject all bids. If the project is not awarded, the City will not have the capacity to meet peak demand in Zone 4 and the capacity limitation will continue to get worse as development increases in that area.

The following bids were received:

Contractor	Total Bid Price Schedules 1, 2, and 3	Bid Price--Additional Pump
Grade A Civil, LLC	$6,921,866.00	$277,500.00
COP Construction LLC	$7,395,437.00	$260,631.00
Askin Construction, LLC	$8,783,404.00	$300,000.00
Western Municipal Construction, Inc.	$9,956,147.50	$285,779.30

The project was budgeted in FY24 using Water Funds and ARPA Grant Funds ($3,300,000) in the amount of $6,200,000.  The budgeted shortfall of Water Funds will be made up from FY24 savings achieved from the Zone 1 project and savings from water compensation.  There are sufficient funds to award this project.  

Staff will also consider increasing rates for the area that has high water use to offset the increased cost.  The water use in this part of Zone 4 is two to three times higher than the average water user in the city.  When staff develops the water rates for FY26 and FY27, the demand will be looked at closer and a recommendation will be made to the City Council regarding the creation of a separate billing zone to recoup some of the cost of the pump station due to high demand.