A Montana company has been tabbed to upgrade the City of Powell’s storm drain system around Northwest College. Earth Movers Excavation of Billings narrowly beat out two Big Horn Basin companies to win the $1 million job.

The work includes installing several blocks of new drain pipe plus a large retention basin that will sit just east of the college’s multi-sports court.

After almost two years of discussion, NWC officials recently agreed to let the city use a chunk of college land for the basin.

“I think this project is in the best interest of both the city and the college,” said Erik Wachob of Engineering Associates, which serves as the city’s engineer.

Wachob said the work will solve some long-running issues with stormwaters in the area of Seventh and Division streets, while providing the capacity to handle runoff from future developments at the college.

He said the project is “the first phase” of a larger set of envisioned upgrades.

At $1,009,197, Earth Movers Excavation’s bid came in about $13,700 below Wilson Brothers Construction of Cowley and nearly $30,000 less than Nicholson Dirt Contracting of Cody.

Under state-funded projects, Wyoming contractors are given a 5% preference, and both Wilson Brothers (whose bid was 1.4% higher) and Nicholson Dirt Contracting (3%) fell within that window. However, this work is being funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and the regulations tied to those federal dollars “require the project be awarded to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder” and don’t allow for an in-state preference, Wachob said.

The low bid still came in about $54,000 over budget, as the city had expected to pay $955,000 for the construction work. The upside is that the city received $1 million of ARPA funding for the work.

Some of the ARPA funds have already been spent on the engineering, and whatever costs aren’t covered by those dollars will be paid out of the roughly $2.17 million held in the city’s stormwater reserve account, Thorington said.

Earth Movers Excavation must substantially complete the project by mid-November 2025. Most notably, the firm’s crews will turn a 1-acre area east of the college’s multi-sports court (northeast of Simpson Hall) into a grassy, gradually sloping basin.

While it may temporarily hold water in the aftermath of a big storm, the basin will generally be dry and have no standing water. The city’s agreement with the college specifies that the basin “shall not present a nuisance bog condition.”