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CMAR Process Provides Additional Transparency, Collaboration in Pricing
The Silt Board of Trustees on Monday night, March 27, will consider the selection of a contractor to assist in the design and engineering of the improvements planned for the Silt Water Treatment Plant. The Town advertised for Construction Manager at Risk firms (CMAR) last month. Two national firms, Garney Construction and Hensel Phelps responded. Garney proposed doing the work for $199,416, while Hensel Phelps proposed $175,160.
By selecting the CMAR delivery method for this Project, the CMAR is expected to collaborate closely and transparently with the Town and its Design Engineer during Phase I to develop a design that achieves our objectives at a mutually agreeable Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP).
With Town staff controlling the process, the Town, Dewberry engineers and the CMAR work together to develop cost models and assistance in securing State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans, avoiding and reducing impacts to existing operations and maintenance due to construction activity, and set and achieve realistic and appropriate completion dates.
A Town subcommittee consisting of Mayor Pro Tem Kyle Knott, Trustee Jerry Siefert, consulting engineers and staff interviewed representatives of both companies and decided that while both firms were well-qualified to perform the work, it was more comfortable with Garney Construction.
Garney was selected primarily for the following reasons:
- Experience in building and starting plants with the technology specified for the Silt plant.
- Exclusive construction experience in water supply, wastewater, pipe, pump, tank and heavy civil projects. They do not do projects not associated with water.
- The proposed Construction Manager for this project lives 20 minutes from Silt and has extensive Western Colorado construction experience.
Contracting with Garney at this point does not obligate the Town to actually pursue building the water plant improvements. Nor does it obligate the Town to contract with Garney beyond the $199,416 CMAR process, which will be complete in November 2023. Only by amendment to the agreement, voted on by the Town of Silt Board of Trustees, will the contract with Garney be extended to include construction of the improvements.
It is well documented that the Silt Water Treatment Plant is not a reliable long-term facility for the Town. Our contract engineering firm, Dewberry, our contract Operator in Responsible Charge (ORC) and our Public Works Director have all recommended that the plant be substantially improved in the near future to address capacity issues, aid in turbidity filtration and treat iron and manganese issues effectively. Added to this is the urgency of not knowing how long this facility will remain operational.
The meeting on Monday evening will start at 7 PM at Silt Town Hall.
Silt Board of Trustees to Discuss Water Rate Structures
Water rate structures will be the topic of conversation between Trustees on Monday night at the Board of Trustees meeting. The method of how to charge for water service has come up from time to time, but now that the Board is faced with paying for significant improvements in its inadequate water plant, it asked staff to develop an updated water rate structure for the Town. The new structure will address both the current state of affairs and future needs. Financial Analyst Jim Mann will be on hand to introduce a couple of options and to discuss others.
The “current state of affairs” is led by the realization that Silt’s water service operates at a roughly $200,000 deficit, paid for by wastewater revenue. A proposed “status quo” rate structure, averaging about $95 per ratepayer would close this gap, but would not provide any improvements to the plant.
Other options, averaging between $137 and $143 per month would fully pay for water operations, provide a comfortable six-month reserve and make the improvements necessary for the water plant for the next 20+ years.
More information can be found at www.townofsilt.org on the home page, lower left hand corner under the button titled “Water Treatment Plant Planning Documents and Information”.
The meeting on Monday, March 27 will begin at 7 PM at Silt Town Hall.
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DMV Returning to Silt in April
Join Us For Our Annual Easter Egg Hunt!
Don't Forget to Check Out Silt's New Website!
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