Sandpoint enters into owner’s rep agreement on wastewater plant project

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

The city of Sandpoint took an important step to move forward with the planned reconstruction of the wastewater treatment plant, voting unanimously Oct. 7 to approve two agreements identifying the owner’s representative and construction management representative.

Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., based in Spokane, Wash., will work with the city under an agreement with a ceiling not to exceed $5 million through 2031. Councilors also approved the first task order in the project, with an amount not to exceed $530,290.

The master task order agreement opens the way for the start of Phase 1 of the project, with an estimated cost of $60 million and future phases potentially reaching $130 million. Sandpoint voters overwhelmingly approved bonding authority for $130 million in 2025, to be put toward the rebuilding of the city’s obsolete sewer facility.

“This project is in need of dedicated capacity, specialized expertise and more than the city staff has to offer. It’s a major investment,” said Sandpoint Public Works Director Holly Ellis.

“There’s very complex engineering, a massive breadth in engineering as well,” she added. “We’ll have structural, civil, mechanic, process mechanic, HVAC, electrical, INC, engineers — a team of engineers, truly — so there’s a very large breadth of expertise.”

Step 1 will include Stantec establishing a project management plan, along with a baseline schedule and budget risk management. In addition, the firm will review and coordinate with the preliminary engineering report currently contracted with Keller Associates.

According to Ellis, the project will be delivered under the “construction manager at risk” method, which will include the construction manager/consultant working alongside a yet-to-be-determined design engineer, with the former proceeding as the general contractor throughout the construction process. Stantec will work in concert with the city throughout the solicitation and approval process for identifying the construction management and design engineering teams.

“The owner’s representative will be supporting us. They’ll be supporting the engineering team, looking at alternative evaluations, reviewing costs, schedules, coordination and they’ll also be supporting our operators as well,” Ellis said, referring to the wastewater treatment plant operators, who will keep the facility working amid construction phases. 

“When I talk about the project, I say ‘project team,’ and that’s truly how we approach projects here at the city — it’s the city’s project, but the engineers and the contractors are all part of that team,” she said. 

“The city’s the owner,” Ellis added. “We establish the project priorities, we manage the budget, make decisions and we also have our operators very integrated into this project. They are the ones who are going to be running the plant when this is done, so their expertise is essential.”

As owner’s representative, Stantec will check the engineering with technical review as well as keeping tabs on costs and ensuring the city remains in compliance with regulatory policies.

“They’ll also be helping us with a risk register. … I rarely talk about this project without talking about risk,” Ellis said. “It’s a big part of this project.”

“I know this is a big project and none of us have ever done something of this scale before,” said Mayor Jeremy Grimm, “but, again, [Stantec is] here to be our advocates, our eyes, our ears and everything else.”