Bids for wastewater treatment plant in Montevideo below $17M estimate

MONTEVIDEO -- It will cost less to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant than earlier estimates suggested, Montevideo City Council members on Monday learned.

Costs for the project will likely fall somewhere between $14 million and $15 million, City Manager Steve Jones said. Earlier estimates were for $17 million.

The new estimate is based on recently opened bids for the project. Rice Lake Construction is the apparent low bidder for the main work on the project. The city must still review the bids and obtain final approval from the state before the contracts will likely be awarded next month. Council members discussed the project while also approving an agreement with Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. for ongoing construction engineering services on the project. The original contract for engineering services anticipates total charges of $1,413,000.34 for design and other services.

In other business, the council met with residents affected by plans for the 2009 street improvements and agreed to drop one portion of the work after hearing concerns.

The work originally proposed for Ashmore Avenue -- from Chippewa County Road 41 to 24th Street -- will not be included in this year's projects.

The project would have involved paving and shaping and leveling the roadway and had an estimated cost of $272,500.

Council members instructed Berryman Engineering to move forward with plans on the other projects proposed for this year, including storm sewer and road surfacing for Sherman Avenue from Seventh Street to 11th Street; a bituminous overlay for Frontage Road on south side of Minnesota Trunk Highway 7 between 17th Street and Chippewa County Road 15; and storm sewer improvements between Buckeye Drive and 19th Street.