The City of Powell is getting some better-than-expected prices on a new sewer line and an upgraded drain.

At its April 10 meeting, the Powell City Council accepted a pair of bids for the two projects that came in nearly a half-million dollars cheaper than what the city feared it might pay.

Building more sewer

To serve the growing southern end of town, the city is putting in a new sewer line that will eventually connect the planned Autumn Grove subdivision and other future developments into Powell’s sewer system.

Though the city budgeted a half-million dollars for the work, Earth Movers Excavation of Laurel, Montana, is doing the job for $338,000.

The bid beat out a competing $374,835 offer from Fry Gravel & Excavation of Powell. Even with a 5% preference for Wyoming companies, the Montana firm’s bid was about $20,000 cheaper.

That the offer came in “well under” the original cost estimate is a bonus,” City Administrator Zack Thorington said at the April 20 meeting. “I guess we put a little contingency in there, but you never know with dirt costs anymore.”

Earth Movers Excavation is familiar with Powell, as it helped build a retention basin for the city last year, on Northwest College property along 10th Street; Thorington described that project as very successful. 

Earth Movers needs to have the new sewer line completely finished by Aug. 28.

The line will cross a roughly 9.7-acre parcel of land owned by Sheridan Construction Inc. The property lies south of Monroe Street and stretches between Jones Street and County Road 8H.

At their meeting last week, the council finished annexing Sheridan Construction’s property into the city in a move that’s intended to clear the way for development in the future.

Just to the west, the council approved the final plat for the first two phases of the Autumn Grove subdivision, which is being developed by Erik Petersen. The subdivision’s initial phases are expected to eventually include 69 new homes. They will be spread across 13.7 acres south of Monroe Street and east of Southside Elementary School.

The city could have required Petersen to provide about 0.8 acres of land for a public park, but the council opted to instead require a $20,000 payment (equal to 10% of the raw land value of the subdivision). 

Rehabilitating a drain

At its April 20 meeting, the council also accepted a $271,650 bid from Subsurface Inc., of Fargo, North Dakota, to slipline an old drain on the northwest side of town. The company will insert a new pipe inside a roughly quarter-mile of aging line that runs from Basil Drive to Avenue K to Meadow Court.

While the bid was over the engineer’s estimate, Thorington said the city initially thought the job might cost as much as $600,000; this year’s budget included $300,000 for just the first half, but that sum will instead more than cover the entire project.

Subsurface Inc. is contractually obligated to finish the sliplining by June 30, and Thorington said the company will “get going on it right away.”