Brandon Leuallen

The Business Times

The Town of Palisade is preparing to move forward with its long-planned sewer-transfer project, with construction expected to begin in April despite bids coming in roughly $2 million over the project’s construction budget.

Town documents show bids received in February totaled approximately $13.67 million, exceeding the roughly $11.96 million allocated for construction under the project’s federal loan package. With contingency costs included, the total funding gap is estimated at just over $2 million, according to a March 6 memo to the Board of Trustees. 

Rather than rebid the project again, town staff recommended moving forward and identifying additional funding to cover the shortfall.

Town Manager Janet Hawkinson said construction is expected to begin in April, although a specific start date has not been finalized.

“We’re looking to start it in April, probably like mid-April, first of April, I would just say April,” Hawkinson said. “We don’t have an exact date quite yet set up.”

Phased construction approach

The project has been divided into multiple components that will be constructed on different timelines.

Hawkinson said work on the lift station can begin immediately once construction starts, because it is not tied to irrigation infrastructure.

“That’s on the inside, so we can start that right away,” she said.

However, portions of the sewer pipeline that interact with irrigation canals will be limited to the non-irrigation season.

“Work on the canal is taking place when the canal is drained,” Hawkinson said.

That seasonal restriction is expected to shape the timeline for completing the pipeline portion of the project.

Lagoon decommissioning to follow

Decommissioning of the town’s existing wastewater lagoons will occur after the system is connected to the Clifton Sanitation District.

Hawkinson said that process will take additional time after the connection is complete.

“Once we connect to Clifton, then we decommission the lagoon,” she said. “We do have to let the lagoons dry out and all the debris dry out, and then the company can come in.”

She said the full lagoon-decommissioning process could take place over multiple years.

“We think that’s two years away,” Hawkinson said.