5.4 ERMUSR 06-04-2024•/i
Ells River
Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO:
FROM:
ERMU Commission
Chris Kerzman — Engineering Manager
MEETING DATE:
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
June 4, 2024
5.4
SUBJECT:
East Substation Construction Project
ACTION REQUESTED:
• Authorize East Substation Project and authorize staff to begin procurement efforts in
accordance with procurement policies.
• Approve DGR Engineering Task Order No. 2 for Engineering Services for East Substation.
BACKGROUND:
When the City of Elk River developed Natures Edge Business Park, the area southeast of
Gateway Road/168th Avenue was designated to be shared between stormwater requirements
for the property and a future substation that will be labeled East substation.
Planned development in the area, as well as a desire for increased redundancy and reliability in
the southeast portion of the service territory are driving this project.
DISCUSSION:
Staff plans to complete the majority of the construction with internal resources while soliciting
quotes for fencing and foundation scopes. Staff expects the transformer bid will be publicly
advertised, while the remainder of materials will be quoted through existing vendors. Material
procurement would begin in summer of 2024, with construction beginning in 2025. Staff is
requesting authorization of the East substation project, which includes material procurement in
2024, and construction in 2025-2026.
In addition, staff is looking for approval of the attached Task Order No. 2 from DGR Engineering,
which will be subject to the terms of the Master Services Agreement currently in place with
DGR. DGR has provided a budget estimate for the project of $4,500,000 which includes
contracted construction labor, materials, design fees, and a 10% contingency. Staff has
reviewed the efforts that would be needed to construct the East substation with both internal
resources and DGR Engineering resources and is comfortable with requesting a project budget
of $3,750,000.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The East Substation project has been identified on the long-term capital plan and the financial
impacts for 2024 are expected to be within the amounts approved in the 2024 budget. Full
project budget of $3,750,000 is $1.1M higher than previously anticipated. Staff expects to have
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materials bid and awarded in 2024 to firm up 2025 and 2026 budgets during normal budget
process.
ATTACHMENTS:
• DGR Engineering Task Order No. 2
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