Friday, OCTOBER 3, 2025 |
Photo – Staging area for sewer project – Bigfoot99 file photo
Saratoga officials approved changes to the town’s 6th Penny Tax-funded sewer improvement project.
In March, the Saratoga Public Works Department and Engineering Associates began drawing up plans to modernize the sewer lines on the west side of town using 6th Penny Specific Purpose Tax funding. Called the West Bench Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project, the goal is to use Cured-in-Place epoxy lining to repair approximately 7,000 feet of deteriorating sewer pipes. Lines found to be beyond repair will be dug up and replaced with new synthetic pipes.
In June, the Town of Saratoga began soliciting contractor bids for the project. At the July 15th Saratoga Town Council meeting, Public Works Director Emery Penner announced that he had received three bids, all of which were near the estimated $1,487,605 cost of the project. Penner said of the three proposals, Rocky Mountain Sand and Gravel submitted the lowest bid, at $1,482,272.50.
As is typical with major infrastructure projects, costs climbed to $1,706,843 once Rocky Mountain Sand and Gravel began work.
The project is being paid for using voter-approved funding from the 2019 Special Purpose Tax. Additionally, the Town of Saratoga had roughly $11,000 left over from a previous 6th Penny Tax project, the 6th Street sewer replacement, which it allocated to the West Bench initiative.
Last month, the governing body of Saratoga signed a contract with Rocky Mountain Sand and Gravel to complete the sewer infrastructure project for the agreed upon price. The Cheyenne-based contractor was given until February 17th, 2026, to finish the entire project or face daily fines totaling $2,250.
Similar fines were assessed to Lewis and Lewis for failing to complete the Spring Avenue Sewer Replacement Project by the October 31st, 2022, deadline. Multiple delays, including groundwater issues and difficulty procuring equipment, extended the project nearly seven months. Final completion did not occur until May of 2023, resulting in more than $300,000 in financial penalties. However, the Town ultimately repaid most of the fines to the Rock Springs contractor, minus the costs incurred during the unexpected winter shutdown.
Public Works Director Emery Penner assured the Saratoga Town Council that Rocky Mountain Sand and Gravel would not face the same ground water issues as Lewis and Lewis.
Work on the West Bench Sewer Replacement Project began on Monday, August 25th. Since that time, the Saratoga Water and Sewer Joint Powers Board, which oversees the West Bench project, has held two public meetings: the first on September 18th and the second on September 30th, both to discuss changes to the job.
During the October 1st Saratoga Town Council meeting, Public Works Director Penner presented a change order from the Water and Sewer Joint Powers Board. Penner explained that Rocky Mountain Sand and Gravel discovered two sections of pipe on Saratoga Avenue, from 11th to 9th Streets, that were originally scheduled to be relined but must be replaced instead.
Penner said relining the roughly 1,000 feet of damaged pipe would be more difficult and costly than fully replacing the affected sewer lines. The Public Works Director agreed that the change order was necessary.
Penner said the rest of the work is progressing as planned, with no further unexpected setbacks.
Penner said following the two public meetings, the Saratoga Water and Sewer Joint Powers Board recommended approving the change order. The Public Works Director urged the Town Council to authorize completely replacing the affected sewer lines rather than using the Cured-in-Place, or CIP, liner.
The change order added $318,823 to the project, bringing the total cost to $2,025,666. Penner said the Town has enough Special Purpose Tax revenue left to cover the added expense. Penner added that the change pushes the expected completion date back 45 days, to April 3rd, 2026.
The Saratoga Town Council unanimously voted to approve Rocky Mountain Sand and Gravel’s $318,823 change order. Public Works Director Penner said the Cured-in-Place pipe relining is scheduled to begin by Saturday, October 11th, with that portion of the work expected to take two to three weeks to complete.
