Background:
Victoria Street and the surrounding area have historically flooded during a heavy rain event. This is largely due to the existing undersized storm water infrastructure. Victoria Street is the collection point for a large area and much of it is impermeable. In the spring of 2019, Reynolds Engineering was hired to assess the area and provide options that would resolve this issue.
In July of 2019, Reynolds Engineering provided 4 options to consider all of which would alleviate the buildup of storm water. Each option included a summary of the work and a cost estimate. Due to the complicated nature of the project, Options 1, 2, and 3 were estimated around $1,350,000 while Option 4 was estimated at $740,000. However, Option 4 required the City to obtain land for a detention pond. Staff felt that option 4 was the best solution so long as we were successful in purchasing the land needed for the detention pond.
On July 17, 2019 in an executive session, staff presented all 4 options to Council along with the recommendation to move forward with Option 4 and requested authorization to pursue the vacant land needed for the detention pond. Council approved the request along with the budget, and we were successful in purchasing the vacant lot adjacent to the college Heights Baptist Church in February of 2020.
Once the property was secured, Reynolds Engineering had clear direction on where the storm water would be stored and could begin the design of Victoria Storm Drainage project. Reynolds submitted the completed design and construction documents for approval in the spring of 2021. With the expectations of the work being completed in the summer of 2022, the City went through a formal bid process receiving only one qualified bid from RMS Utilities for the amount of $774,044.75. The RMS bid, plus the other expenses already incurred to complete the project are listed below. The total project budget is now $1,064,075, which remains below the other options with 2019 cost projections.
RMS Utilities $774,044
Property purchase $107,000
Lift Station equipment $123,031
Detention blocks $ 20,000
Fencing $ 25,000
Contingency $ 15,000
Until recently, the original approved budget would have been adequate for this project. However, the volatility of the construction labor and material market has led to substantial cost increases. An example on how much the market has changed is a contractor could purchase and install a 15” storm water pipe for $27 per linear foot in 2019. Today, that cost is about $70 per linear foot – a 160% increase. Staff does not believe that rebidding the project will result in a lower price. Most contractors are currently booked and are not taking on additional large-scale projects and the higher material costs would be consistent for them as well.