The Upper Thompson Sanitation District Board voted Tuesday unanimously to move forward with construction of a new wastewater treatment plant, awarding a $94 million contract for a project district officials have been working toward for more than a decade.
The board awarded the $93,929,839 contract to RN Civil Construction, a Centennial-based contractor that has worked with the district and its consultant, Steve Ravel, a senior project manager at Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services LLC, as it redesigned and scaled back the project.
Dan Niehus, founder of RN Civil Construction, said the company expects to mobilize at the construction site just north of the district’s existing wastewater treatment plant on Mall Road around Nov. 1.
Excavation is expected to begin after initial site work, with crews potentially reaching subgrade within four to six weeks, depending on weather, groundwater, and subsurface conditions.
The vote marked a major milestone for a project that has been more than 12 years in the making and has become considerably more expensive along the way.
District Manager Suzanne Jurgens said the treatment plant was already being discussed when she joined Upper Thompson in 2014.
“I began working with Upper Thompson in 2014, and at my job interview, the former district manager, Chris Beeker, spoke of this project, that it was in the future of the district,” Jurgens said. “It has been a journey.”
That journey suffered a major setback in March 2025, when construction bids came in millions of dollars above the district’s anticipated $80 million budget. Only two contractors submitted bids, at approximately $94 million and $111.2 million.
Rather than proceed at those prices, the district returned to the drawing board, working to reduce the scope and cost of the project while retaining the treatment capacity and regulatory improvements officials said the district needs.
Board chair Sue Doylen acknowledged Tuesday that the district had been forced to pare down the project.
“We didn’t have a choice,” said Doylen, adding that RN Civil’s involvement through the redesign gave the district confidence that the resulting plant would still provide what staff had worked toward while keeping costs as economical as possible.
Niehus told the board he believes the redesign has resulted in a better project despite the reductions.
“Hopefully, Matt and his entire staff feel they’re getting a better plant, a better project, better layout for less money when you consider the scope that’s been added,” Niehus said.
The cost remains substantial. During Tuesday’s discussion, board members noted that the projected cost had increased approximately 40% since 2020 and expressed concern that delaying construction again could expose the district to still higher construction costs.
“The dollar amount — it’s never going to be good, but it is what it is,” said Mike Morton, vice chair. “I’m not sure we can afford to delay it anymore.”
Jurgens said she believes the redesigned facility is the plant the district needs and will serve the community for decades.
“I truly feel in my heart we’re building the project that we’ve needed all along,” said Jurgens, adding that the plant should serve the district for 50 years and allow it to meet federal environmental regulations.
Doylen described Tuesday’s decision as a major step after years of financial studies, design work and consideration of how the district could afford the project.
The district’s goals, she said, have included building a sustainable plant that meets current regulations while providing a safer, more functional, and longer-lasting facility than the existing plant.
After the vote, Doylan acknowledged that paying for the new plant will impact Upper Thompson customers.
“We still have some pain to go with our community because we still have to raise rates to make this thing happen,” Doylen said.
But she called the plant a long-term investment that she believes will be worthwhile.
“If everyone can just stick with us another couple years together, we have a beautiful new plant that is ready to serve the entire valley for the future of most of our lives,” she said. “And it’s exciting.”
In other business, the board voted unanimously to designate Gina Moore, the district’s financial officer, as its 2027 budget officer. State law requires the district to designate a budget officer by Oct. 15.
Jurgens said staff will present the proposed 2027 budget to the board for review and feedback at a special meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13. The meeting will take place before the statutory deadline.
Staff will present the final 2027 budget at the board’s regular meeting on Dec. 15 for consideration and adoption.
The board approved an invoice of invoice in the amount of $254,280.86 to Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services LLC for work completed from June 13 to July 10, and for $133,518.70 to C and L Water Solutions, for work that was done to cure and place pipe repairs that were performed on more than 800 feet of 21-inch clay sewer main along Riverside Drive.
The board also heard a report on the repair of 50 yar old pipe along Riverside Drive that dates to the 1970s. A trenchless cured-in-place pipelining process was used to essentially constructing a new structural liner inside the existing clay sewer main.
The project took only three days — one day for setup and one day for each of two pipe sections. Staff estimated conventional work could have taken well over a month, resulting in significant savings. Staff expect the repair to have a life expectancy of approximately 50 to 75 years.
The district plans to work with C&L Water Solutions this fall on additional pipe repairs.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting is set for Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. and a special meeting is set for Oct. 13 at 4 p.m. at the district’s headquarters.