Agenda - Council - 02/23/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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the State. He stated that bonding would also be an option, along with other alternatives that will be explored as the process gets to that point. Councilmember Specht referenced the mention of the pressure being placed on the wells as they are constantly being run and asked if there is a plan B in the case that a problem arises. City Engineer Westby commented that there are six wells and any of those wells can be used, but they have to limit the downtime to no more than one month. He stated that if another well needs to be used, that can be done. He stated that the City has been lucky in that maintenance needs have occurred during nonpeak use. He noted that the issue of manganese would need to continue to be monitored if one of those wells were brought online. He stated that Ramsey also has an interconnect with the City of Anoka that could possibly be utilized in an emergency. Councilmember Riley stated that two direct procurements were mentioned. He noted that the first action seems easier but noted that he did not hear associated costs or pros/cons. The City Engineer estimated $1,500,000 to $2,000,000 in watermain work. He stated that if they complete that action now, that will prevent further disruption to Bunker Laker Boulevard in the future which would also have additional costs. Councilmember Riley asked how the Council can be made comfortable with that cost. The City Engineer stated that the earlier a project is bid, the better the bids come back as contractors do not have full schedules for the season. City Administrator Ulrich clarified that the project itself would still be bid. He stated that the cost for the design and specs could be compared to similar projects from other municipalities in order to provide the Council with comfort for that cost. City Engineer Westby agreed that the first step would be to authorize SEH to prepare plans and specifications and those would come back for the Council to review and then the second step would be to go out for bids for the construction, therefore it will come before the Council multiple times. He stated that the larger action would to be to go out for RFP's for the Water Treatment Plant, similar to the process followed for the Public Works Facility and provided additional details on the process. He confirmed that he would like direction from the Council on whether they are comfortable moving ahead on the plans or the additional information that would be needed to make the Council comfortable. Councilmember Riley stated that he is not comfortable procuring the whole plans and administration of the project as he is concerned with saving dollars and making sure things are right. He agreed that it would seem to make sense to move forward with the portion that can be completed with the County project. City Administrator Ulrich agreed that for a project of this size he would agree with the RFP process, as that would involve interviews similar to the Public Works Facility where additional City Council Work Session / February 8, 2021 Page 2 of 6