Adopt Resolution #19-248 Accepting Proposals and Awarding Contract for Improvement Project #19-12, Centralized Water Treatment Facility Preliminary Design Report

Purpose:
The purpose of this case it to adopt Resolution #19-248 accepting proposals and awarding a contract for Improvement Project #19-12, Centralized Water Treatment Facility Preliminary Design Report.

Background:
The existing water supply source for the City of Ramsey’s water supply system is the Tunnel City/Wonewoc (TCW) aquifer, formerly known as the Franconia-Ironton-Galesville (FIG) aquifer.  Water is drawn from the TCW aquifer through eight (8) groundwater wells, seven (7) of which are currently being utilized to provide potable water.  The maximum capacity of the combined municipal wells is 10.9 million gallons per day (MGD).  Two additional wells are proposed to be constructed in the years 2023 and 2028, which is intended to supply water to all municipal water system users to the year 2040 based on projected City growth.
 
The City’s groundwater supply wells have historically provided groundwater of good quality and in adequate quantity.  However, in 2019 the Minnesota Department of Health informed the City that several of its groundwater supply wells are producing concentrations of manganese that exceed the recommended Secondary Drinking Water Standards. The City does not currently treat its municipal water supply for manganese so as a short-term solution the City immediately started pumping water only from the three wells with the lowest concentrations of manganese to maintain manganese concentrations below the recommended Secondary Drinking Water Standards.  While this approach worked okay this summer, heavy irrigation use was not observed this year due to the large amount of rain received, which prevented the need to run other wells in significant amounts.  This might not be the case in future years so Staff is requesting Council authorization to utilize SEH, Inc. to complete the requested professional services over the next eight months.
 
It is important to note that the City wells with the lowest concentrations of manganese also produce the highest concentrations of iron, which has resulted in increased complaints of rust-colored water, and over time will negatively affect the operation of valves, water meters, hydrants, and other mechanical devices susceptible to damage due to higher concentrations of iron.
 
To properly plan for long-term solutions to reduce manganese and iron concentrations in the municipal water supply system, and to confirm the existing water supply source has adequate capacity, the City requested proposals from qualified consultants for providing professional services as outlined in the attached request for proposals.  The requested professional services include analyzing the municipal water supply system source water, developing a water system model, and preparing a preliminary design report for a centralized water treatment facility to ensure the City of Ramsey’s municipal water supply system will continue to provide adequate quantities of safe drinking water into the foreseeable future.
 
Final design work for the centralized water treatment facility, including pilot testing of preferred treatment processes, will be completed under separate contract following public review of and input on the preliminary design report that will be developed as part of the scope of services of the attached RFP.
 
In summary, the City advertised the RFP on-line using QuestCDN, and published an ad in the City’s official newspaper, the Anoka Union Herald, on August 16, 2019.  Staff also directly submitted the RFP to eight consultants and received five proposals in return.  The selection committee, which was composed of the City Administrator, the Public Works Superintendent, the Utilities Superintendent, and the City Engineer, selected three teams to interview.  Based on the proposal team interviews, as well as the work plans and fees outlined in the three proposals, the selection committee is recommending City Council approval to enter into a contract with the team from SEH.  In the end, the selection committee felt that any of the three teams interviewed could more than adequately provide the requested professional services.  As such, the committee ultimately determined that the decision should reflect the best value for the City and SEH’s proposed fees were the lowest by a significant margin.

Attached is a tabulation of proposal fees for the five proposals received.

No notifications are required for this item.

Alternatives:
Alternative #1 – Motion to adopt Resolution #19-248 accepting proposals and awarding a contract to SEH Inc. for Improvement Project #19-12, Centralized Water Treatment Facility Preliminary Design Report.

Alternative #2 – Motion of other.

Funding for the requested professional engineering services will be provided through the water enterprise fund.

Staff recommends alternative #1.

Motion to adopt Resolution #19-248 accepting proposals and awarding a contract to SEH Inc. for Improvement Project #19-12, Centralized Water Treatment Facility Preliminary Design Report.