#11 - I-94 Lift Station and Forcemain Repair

Home Browse Search

STAFF REPORT DATE: July 15, 2025 REGULAR TO: City Council FROM: Nate Stanley, City Engineer AGENDA ITEM: Approve Resolution Accepting Bids and Awarding a Contract for the I-94 Lift Station and Forcemain Replacement Project REVIEWED BY: Nicole Miller, City Administrator Clarissa Hadler, Finance Director Marty Powers, Public Works Director Chad Isakson, Assistant City Engineer CORE STRATEGIES: ☐ Vibrant, inclusive, connected community ☐ Efficient, reliable, innovative services ☒ Responsive, transparent, adaptive governance ☐ Balanced Finances now and future ☒ Managed Growth ☒ Resilient Infrastructure BACKGROUND: On June 17, 2025 the City Council ordered an advertisement for bids for the I-94 Lift Station and Forcemain Replacement Project. The project was advertised on QuestCDN.com and in the Stillwater Gazette in accordance with the Minnesota Competitive Bidding requirements. ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL: Should the City Council accept bids and award a construction contract for the project? PROPOSAL DETAILS/ANALYSIS: The improvements include the replacement of an existing 8-inch forcemain with a new 16-inch HDPE forcemain, sized to meet the ultimate service flows to the I-94 Lift Station. The new forcemain will be installed in the approximate location of the existing forcemain, which will be abandoned in place, and will be installed through a combination of directional drilling and open cut trenching. The improvements also include the replacement of the existing 90-inch culvert as it crosses Hudson Boulevard. The failed culvert was discovered last fall as part of the Amira Subdivision Improvements and was then incorporated in the 2025 CIP to be addressed as a City project. New pumps were also ordered to support the increased forcemain size and new operating conditions. Contractor bids were received and opened electronically on July 8, 2025. The City received five bids for this project, with A-1 Excavating LLC. providing the lowest bid in the amount of $1,248,683.00. Following review and verification of the bid tabulations, the City Engineer and Design Engineer are recommending that the City Council award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder, A-1 Excavating LLC., as outlined in the attached letter. The table below provides a total project cost comparison to the Capital Improvement Plan budget. The costs include the pump purchase amount in the total estimated project cost.