February 11, 2022 |
In Saratoga, the Joint Powers Water and Sewer Board reversed direction Wednesday on the Spring Street water line project. The topic came up on the agenda 40 minutes into the JPB’s regular monthly meeting. When it did, board member Russ Waldner immediately made a motion to move forward with the delivery process preferred by the Saratoga Town Council.
Pictured above: File photo of Downtown Saratoga. Photo by Bigfoot 99.
JPB member Ryan Munks, who along with Waldner had resisted the idea at Monday’s workshop with town council, offered the second. Discussion moved quickly to how much it will cost to hire T-O Engineering as a consultant to determine scope and design the project. Under the CMAR process, a construction manager would be hired at later date. Neither Mayor Creed James, who was present, nor Councilman Jon Nelson, who is the town’s representative on the board, was aware prior to the meeting of the JPB’s change. Taken off guard, Nelson addressed the question about cost, reaching out to the mayor in the process.
Neither the town nor the JPB have undertaken any projects before now using the CMAR process. Everyone has questions and a learning curve. Nelson clarified how the work would be organized with different contracts and responsibilities. The Cheyenne-based office of T-O would be hired as the engineer of record without going out to a competitive bid. T-O would provide professional engineering services only.
The town will use a competitive bid process to hire contractor at risk. T-O would prepare the request for proposals for the bid process. The “risk” factor is triggered at a predetermined point in the design phase, usually between 60-90 percent, when the contractor must provide a Guaranteed Maximum Price to deliver the project. The contractor is liable for expenses over that amount. If the project is completed for less for less than the GMP, a cost sharing agreement determines the final delivery price. The big question in the CMAR process is what happens if the GMP comes in over budget, which is $1.7 million for the Spring Street project.
With costs going up monthly because of inflation, the GMP could exceed budget. So the town will look for ways to procure of pipes, valves and other materials as early as possible no matter what process it winds up using. JPB member Craig Kopasz said switching gears and reverting to the traditional design-bid-build process could result in delays and additional costs. Kopasz said additional contracts would be needed – one for the purchasing materials and another for hiring another contractor.
Before taking the vote to hire T-O as the engineer of record and move forward with the water line project using the contractor-at-risk method, board member Roger Cox summed up JPB’s frustration.
With the intent of completing the project this year, the JPB voted unanimously to approve the motion. The board then approved another motion to hire go out to bid for an engineer to develop other projects that the board has previously identified as needing done.
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