City officials trim cost of water plant upgrades

The City of New Rockford has accepted a bid for the last phase of the city’s water infrastructure project, now entering its second year.

The project calls for the removal of the lime softening system currently in use to treat the city’s water supply. A potassium permanganate treatment and reverse osmosis skid will be installed in its place, and the water plant’s physical footprint will increase to accommodate the new equipment needed for the two treatment processes.

The $2.5 million water treatment plant upgrade is the final phase of the city’s infrastructure project. The first phase, the water main replacement, is on schedule to be finished yet this fall. The water tower repair, the second phase, was completed last month.

Five companies bid on the project, which is expected to take up to 16 months to complete. One bid was rejected due to a discrepancy with the company’s bond paperwork. The other four bids all came in at least 20% higher than the engineer’s estimate, which prompted city officials and their advisors to identify cost savings to keep the project on budget.

The lowest bid, totaling $2,562,489.50, was submitted by Watford City-based North Star Logistics, doing business as Sentry Crane.

At a special meeting on Friday, Aug. 14, city commissioners reviewed a list of four areas where savings could be realized. The first was the electrical work. Sentry Crane only received one quote for electrical services prior to bidding the project. Since then they have obtained other quotes and agreed to use the lowest bidding electrical subcontractor, for a savings of $59,050.

Another big-ticket item is the cost of temporary water treatment while the new potassium permanganate system is installed. The bid proposal called for the delivery and use of a temporary treatment system to remove iron and manganese from the water. City officials agreed to forego this process, saving $55,231. The drawback is that the city’s water supply will be temporarily affected. The water will still be safe to drink, but it will be hard. Residents will be notified well in advance so they know when to expect the change in the water quality during the construction process.

Sentry’s bid also contained costs for trucking demolition materials to the Jamestown landfill. The materials to be removed can be disposed of in New Rockford’s inert landfill, which will save $27,842 in transportation costs.

Finally, the city public works staff will construct a barbed wire fence around the new holding pond rather than having the contractor install it, which is estimated to shave $8,515 off the cost.

All told the cost cuts will total $150,638, reducing the water treatment plant upgrades to $2,411,851.50. That leaves a mere $15,000 in the budget for incidental expenses. “The budget is tight,” engineer Wade Senger noted.

One area left off the table for now in terms of cost savings is the installation of brick veneer over the cast concrete new addition. Commissioner Kelly McKnight, who was absent for the previous meeting, asked why the $41,819 price tag was not included in the cost-saving measures. President Stu Richter replied that the three commissioners who were present for the Aug. 3 meeting had agreed that aesthetically it was important to have the new addition match the existing plant. Richter noted that should the project have unforeseen expenses, they could reconsider.

The bid has now been submitted to USDA-Rural Development for approval, as the project will be completed entirely using grant funds from the federal agency. Wade Senger of Interstate Engineering said Wednesday that the North Star Logistics plans to start as soon as possible in order to get the building shell completed before winter. Equipment installation will take place over the winter, with exterior finish work to be completed next year.