Water treatment project costs rise by more than $20,000

WADENA — The Wadena City Council will pay $20,194 more to fix its water treatment plant due to an error by the project contractor.

Last year, the council was informed the water treatment plant facility is running the same software as when it was built in 2003. The program runs on Windows 95 and replacement parts are becoming few and far between.

To arrange the project, the council contracted with Bolton & Menk, which provides technical planning, design and engineering for infrastructure projects.

The council approved hiring Automatic Systems to upgrade the water treatment plant system, and Bolton & Menk was directed to secure the contract and schedule the work to be completed by March 31.

With no movement on the project being seen by the public works department, city staff reached out to Bolton & Menk and discovered no contract was acquired with the approved vendor. Therefore, no materials were ordered and the project was not scheduled, according to documents provided at the March 14 city council meeting.

The cost for the work when the project was approved last year totaled $114,953. Of those fees, $105,153 was to go to Automatic Systems and $9,800 for engineering work by Bolton & Menk.

An updated project fee was requested from Automatic Systems. The new cost submitted was $135,147 and the work would not be completed until early 2024. The cost increase was stated to be because materials now cost more.

The council was told Bolton & Menk would not charge engineering fees with the new contract.

The council was informed Bolton & Menk solicited another quote from a company that approached them during the last bid phase, but the cost was higher than the one provided by Automatic Systems.

The council approved the contract with Automatic Systems and directed Bolton & Menk to arrange the work.