City Commissioners will consider two contracts during their Dec. 3 meeting for the Lift Station No. 1 project.

The first is a general contractor construction manager contract to Prospect Construction at a guaranteed maximum price of $7,456,692 for the lift station and supplemental force main improvements project.

Staff is recommending approval concurrently with a professional services agreement with TD&H Engineering for engineering construction phase services for the project for $687,600.

The two contracts total $8,144,292.

Last month, commissioners approved about $1.6 million in related contracts.

Under the proposed contract, TD&H will continue coordinating the general contractor construction manager process, bid package review, general construction management and inspection, as-built and operations and maintenance plan development and archaeological monitoring service for the project, according to city public works staff.

Commissioners approve $1.6 million in contracts for lift station upgrades

In 2021, the city conducted a feasibility study for the project, then applied for and was awarded American Rescue Plan Act, or federal COVID relief funds, for the project.

Design began in 2022 and they had 30 percent designs in October 2022, at which point, the cost estimate was $7.8 million.

Commissioners voted in April 2023 to use the general contractor construction management process, which is allowed under Montana law, for alternative project delivery methods for complex projects under certain criteria, which city staff determined were met in this case.

The general contractor construction management process includes phases of preconstruction and construction, according to staff.

City approves contract for lift station project [2023]

It’s the second project for which the city is using the GCCM process.

In September 2023, the city awarded the contractor manager contract and were at 60 percent designs in December 2023, at which point, the cost estimate had risen to $16.7 million, city staff said during an April 2024 work session, for an increase of $8.9 million.

City staff told commissioners in April that much of the initial cost estimates were based on the city’s 2021 river crossing project, but many of those costs had since doubled and inflation had risen.

During an April 2024 commission work session, staff discussed a $9 million budget shortfall that was during the design phase of the project.

City adjusting plan for Lift Station No. 1 project due to cost increases

Due to the cost increase, city staff said in April that they adjusted the project scope to focus on Lift Station No. 1 improvements in the first phase and shift forcemain repairs to a future second phase.

In November, commissioners approved two contracts for pre-procurement of long lead time equipment needed for the project.

Lift Station No. 1 was constructed in 1976 and is the city’s second largest pumping station which pumps about 40 to 45 percent of all raw wastewater throughout the city to the wastewater treatment plant.

According to city staff, the current stormwater pumps and associated ball valves are deteriorating and parts are no longer available for repairs.

City Commission approves contract process for lift station project [2023]

The bar screen, which was installed in 1986, has difficulty screening rags/debris during high flows due to its large five-eighth-inch screen openings, while modern screens are either a quarter inch or three-eighths of an inch, according to staff.

The exhaust fan, which is necessary for removing hydrogen sulfide from the building, is currently at the end of its life; and the wet well repairs and replacement of six sluice gates are required since two gates no longer operate due to corrosion and the other four gates are approaching the same condition, according to staff.

“The renovation of Lift Station No. 1 provides future reliability of pumping of raw wastewater to the [wastewater treatment plant], minimizing the risk of service interruption, wastewater bypassing to the Missouri River, regulatory exposure, and environmental damage associated with aging equipment,” according to public works staff.

City considering contract for sewer crossing, lift station project [2023]

The project is the first phase, with the second phase anticipated in the future to construct a redundant river crossing.

“Completing these projects will reduce the severity of an S.O.S. due to extreme rain events and/or the older 1979 forcemain breaking,” according to public works.

The Lift Station No. 1 project has been selected and prioritized under the public works capital improvements program.

It’s being funded with $3,854,585 of state ARPA minimum allocation grant funds; $2,000,000 of state ARPA competitive grant funds; and the remaining $5,521,597 from the city sewer treatment fund, according to city staff.

If the ARPA funds aren’t spent by Dec. 31, 2025, the city risks losing those funds and having to fund the project through other sources.

If commissioners delay the project, city staff wrote in their staff report that it would push lead time for equipment and have scheduling impacts and an estimated $420,000 increase in overhead costs.

Construction completion is estimated for the fall of 2026.