06.l Engineering Updates 9-16-2025
City of Scandia
Engineering Updates 9/16/2025
Engineering Italics = Old information
• 2025 Street Improvement Project
➢ Anticipated project schedule is as follows:
o Approve Plans & specifications/Authorize Ad for Bid – January 21, 2025.
o Bid Opening – February 19, 2025.
o Consider Contract Award at City Council Meeting – March 18, 2025.
➢ Geotechnical report was received on December 11, 2024.
➢ Both CMSCWD and CLFLWD were contacted regarding potential “add -on” projects that could be implemented as
part of the 2025 Street Improvement Project. Neither watershed identified any potential projects within our
scope.
➢ CMSCWD will not be requiring any permits for this project. Permit application for CLFLWD will be submitted later
this month.
➢ The following permits applications have been submitted:
o Washington County right of way
o Comfort Lake Forest Lake Watershed District erosion and sediment control
o Type & Boundary (wetland delineations)
➢ Bids were opened on Wednesday, February 19th at 9:00am. Six Contractors submitted bids for the base bid and
alternate 1 for this project.
➢ Bid results and recommendation of the award have been included as a separate agenda item.
➢ The preconstruction meeting for this project has been scheduled for Tuesday, April 15th at 10:00am.
➢ Construction notices will be delivered to residents two weeks prior to the start of construction that will include
an anticipated project schedule.
➢ Construction is anticipated to begin on Monday June 9th.
➢ A preliminary schedule has been included at the end of this report for reference.
o The Contractor will begin construction once completed with the Marine on St. Croix 2025 Street
Improvement Project. This has been reflected in the schedule attached.
➢ The Contractor began reclaiming project streets on May 23rd.
➢ Storm sewer improvements began the week of May 26th.
➢ Initial roll testing and subgrade corrections began the week of June 2nd.
➢ A test roll of the corrected reclaimed base material was conducted using a fully loaded water truck supplied by
the City of Scandia on June 24th.
➢ The base layer of bituminous pavement was paved on June 30th.
➢ Core samples were taken the following day and sent to Braun for testing.
➢ Contractor’s Request for Payment No. 3 has been included as a separate agenda item.
➢ Bituminous base patching was completed on July 15th.
➢ Bituminous wear paving was completed on July 17th.
➢ Culverts were cleaned at the end of July.
➢ The final punchlist has been sent to Valley Paving. Final quantities are being discussed to
get final documentation process started for close out.
• 2024 Tennis Court Reconstruction Project
➢ Project Schedule is as follows:
o Approve Plans & Specifications/Authorize ad for Bid – June 18, 2024.
o Bid Opening – July 10, 2024.
o Consider Contract Award at City Council Meeting – July 16, 2024.
➢ Geotechnical report was received on March 26th, 2024.
o The report soil borings determined that Barton Johson and Community Center Tennis Courts should
both be reconstructed with new bases and pavement. Proposed sections have been discussed with
City Staff.
➢ Wetland Delineations were collected on Thursday April 11th.
o Plan and permitting updates will be completed once delineations have been reviewed and
discussed with City Staff.
➢ Plans and specifications have been completed. City comments were received and implemented throughout this
design process.
➢ Request to approve plans, specifications and authorize ad for bid has been included as a separate agenda item.
➢ Bids for the 2024 Tennis Court Reconstruction Project were opened on Wednesday, July 10th, at 9:00am.
➢ The City Council awarded the Base Bid + Alternate 1 to Veit & Company, Inc. at the August 7 th Council workshop.
➢ Change Order No. 1 has been put together and sent to Veit & Company on August 12th.
➢ A preconstruction meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday August 20th at 10am.
➢ Construction will begin after September 9th.
➢ Tree removal began by the City on Monday September 9th, with the Contractor beginning removal work on
September 10th.
➢ The Contractor stockpiled, and plans to test, the existing aggregate base layer to determine whether it can be
re-used as base material. If passing, they will re-use what material they can, and supplement with new class 5
aggregate for the additional tennis court.
➢ Change Order No. 2 has been put together and sent to Veit & Company on September 11th for unit pricing.
Change Order No. 2 includes a price adjustment for removing unforeseen bituminous pavement below the
aggregate base layer (this was not captured by soil borings due to the sporadic nature of the bituminous
pavement).
o This Change Order has been attached to the end of this report (unit price not yet received from
Veit).
➢ Fence posts have been installed, with concrete and pavement work to be completed still this month.
➢ Minor basin corrective work will take place over the next week. Drain tile will be corrected to promote drainage,
and additional filter media will be added to the basin.
➢ Contractor’s Request for Payment No. 1 has been included as a separate agenda item.
➢ The contractor poured the concrete maintenance strip on October 15th.
➢ Paving was completed in 2 lifts. The first lift was placed on October 21st, and the second on October 24th.
➢ Corrective concrete work was completed on October 29th.
➢ Acrylic surfacing and court striping was completed the week of May 12th.
➢ Fencing within the courts was completed the week of May 19th.
➢ Topsoiling and remaining turf restoration was completed on June 4th.
➢ The City has requested that the Contractor re-stripe the multi-use pickleball courts to a lighter blue to increase
the contrast with the surrounding green surfacing.
o This is tentatively scheduled to be completed in 1-2 weeks.
➢ An initial punchlist has been created and distributed to the Contractor.
➢ The multi-use pickleball courts were re-striped to a lighter blue color on June 12th.
➢ Contractor’s Request for Payment No. 4 has been included as a separate agenda item.
➢ No request for Payment has been included for this project this month. Turf restoration has still not been
accepted which is required prior to project closeout.
➢ Final quantities were sent to Veit for review to get the process started for final project closeout once turf
restoration has been accepted.
➢ An updated punchlist has been sent to Veit detailing remaining bare spots requiring
additional seeding. We are still waiting for submission of final documentation.
• Tii Gavo Development Phase II
➢ Watershed permit has been obtained and grading work began on Tuesday July 11th. BMI will have staff on site
for public infrastructure inspections.
➢ The bituminous base layer was paved on 8/17/2023.
➢ Aggregate shouldering was completed on 8/30/2023.
➢ Hand auger borings have been scheduled for each of the non-functioning basins along with a grain analysis and
hydrometer testing.
➢ A request to reduce the Letter of Credit for this development has been included as a separate agenda item.
➢ Plowe is currently working on the corrective design for the basins on-site, in coordination with the watershed,
and hoping to have an approved plan within the next few weeks.
➢ Corrective design has been completed and is being reviewed by the Contractor. The finalized plans will then be
sent to the CMSCWD and City for review during the week of November 11th – 15th.
➢ Corrective designs were submitted to the City and CMSCWD on Thursday, November 14th.
➢ The plans did not fully encompass the design aspects requested by CMSCWD to construct fully functioning water
treatment basins. CMSCWD has since provided additional comments that are being implemented.
➢ A revised submittal was sent to CMSCWD for review on December 20th, 2024.
➢ CMSCWD sent review comments to the Plowe Engineering on January 10th, 2025.
➢ CMSCWD sent executed watershed permits to the Developer on Wednesday January 15th, 2025.
o Corrective work will take place in the spring due to frost conditions and recent snowfall.
➢ Weather permitting the basin corrective work will begin in June.
➢ Corrective work on the basins is anticipated to be completed by the end of July.
➢ North Pine conducted a site visit in early July and deemed the basins too wet to perform the corrective work. The
Contractor is still hoping to have the corrective work completed by the end of July, weather permitting.
➢ North Pine relayed that the basins are still too wet to perform corrective work but will be working on them as
soon as they are able to. No schedule was submitted.
o CMSCWD is continuing to push for this work to be completed as soon as possible and coordinating
with the developer.
➢ Discussions were had between the Developer and CMSCWD on the remaining basin
improvements. It was decided that a revised plan was required and will be submitted by
Plowe Engineering the week of September 15th – 19th for review and implementation.
• Floodplain Risk Assessment
➢ Watershed District has received notification from the MPCA they did not receive the grant that was applied for.
➢ CMSCWD Board is considering allocating funding for the Risk Assessment in 2024 at their 2024 CMSCWD Budget
Workshop.
➢ The draft 2024 CMSCWD budget currently includes funding to address model data gaps for the Big Marine Lake
outlet, Carnelian Channel, and Carnelian Creek flowages. This is the first step in a multi-year process to
complete the Floodplain Risk Assessment.
➢ Application #3 was not awarded.
➢ Application #4 is due on December 14th, 2023.
➢ The 2024 CMSCWD budget includes funding to address model data gaps for the Big Marine Lake outlet,
Carnelian Channel, and Carnelian Creek flowages. This is the first step in a multi-year process to complete the
Floodplain Risk Assessment.
➢ Application #4 was not funded.
➢ Application #5 is being prepared for submittal on April 30th, 2024.
➢ Application #5 has been prepared and submitted for the MPCA-Small Communities Planning for SWC Resilience
on April 30th, 2024.
➢ When the CMSCWD begins their 2025 budgeting process in July, the board will consider funding the next steps in
the planning process, with or without a grant.
➢ A survey of the Big Marine Outlet and channel has already been completed, assessing the conditions of the
culverts, and evaluating the existing channel profile. This was an important step to improve the watershed’s
model for planning and future maintenance.
➢ A location map for this channel has been provided at the end of this report.
➢ No Update on Application #5 as of July 10th, a verbal update will be brought to council on July 16th.
➢ Application #5 has been selected and the CMSCWD will receive a grant in the amount of $50,000. This will be
used to supplement the funds that CMSCWD has already allocated for this assessment in their 2025 draft
budget.
➢ CMSCWD held a public budget hearing on 9/25/2024.
➢ CMSCWD has approved to enter into an agreement with the MPCA to complete this work. Modeling has begun,
and the watershed plans to reach out to the City in November to schedule an initial input meeting.
➢ Modeling work has begun, and post modeling engagement meetings with nearby cities will be scheduled in
November.
➢ The engagement plan for this project is as follows:
o First Meeting: Late January/early February: One-on-one meeting with City/Township staff to review
initial flood risk maps and identify hazards.
o Second Meeting: Late March/April: Special workshop with each City/Township board to share flood
hazard risk and vulnerability maps and discuss possible resiliency improvements.
o Third Meeting: Date TBD: Draft results meeting to share with City/Town council and community
members.
➢ CMSCWD is also coordinating with CLFLWD to host a coordinated input meeting with Washington County and
State Agencies.
➢ The first meeting as described above has been scheduled for Thursday February 6th, 2025, at 9:00AM. This
meeting will include City Staff and Bolton & Menk attendance.
➢ Both Charlie Fischer and Isiah Bubany attended the first floodplain risk assessment with CMSCWD, CLFLWD, and
EOR representatives.
➢ A presentation was provided that walked through all potential flooding risks within the City of Scandia based on
a 100-yr rain event.
➢ City Staff provided feedback on all problem areas including history of the street/property, as well as information
regarding locations of critical City infrastructure.
➢ The second meeting with City staff was held on Tuesday, May 13th from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.
➢ Kyle, Charlie, and Isiah were in attendance to discuss high, medium, and low priority locations for future
corrective action.
➢ The CMSCWD is planning to send a draft report to City Staff to review and comment on in August.
➢ Tentatively, the CMSCWD is planning to provide a summary to the City Council along with a final report in
September or October.
➢ The Draft report referenced previously is in hand and is being reviewed for comments by
early October.
• Bliss Drainfield System
➢ The final permit has been issued. The assumption is that we’ll end up on Track 2, with required system
improvements due to the nitrate issue. Only thing that needs to take place in the next 6 months (February 28,
2022) is for new flow meters to be installed at the system, something we’ll begin working on. At the one year
mark (September 1, 2022), we’ll need to have a Facility Evaluation Report drafted to summarize the system’s
ability or inability to meet the nitrate limit.
➢ New flow meters were installed by Public Works at the beginning of 2022 and specific flows to the three
drainfield cells is now being monitored. Some additional nitrate testing was also performed in August 2022 to
provide additional data points and to get an idea of how much nutrient removal is currently taking place
through the sand filters.
➢ As of September 1, 2022, the Facility Evaluation Report has been sent to the MPCA. We await their review, but
based on the monitoring well samples taken throughout the last year it appears we’ll be on Track 2, with
improvements to the system needed to deal with the nitrate issue. Assuming this is the case, the next step will
be to complete a full Facility Plan by August of 2023 which evaluates the facility and its performance as a whole
and provides options/recommendations for improvements to be made. This is required by Track 2 but is also the
next step in obtaining PFA funding for the project.
➢ We met with MPCA on December 16, 2022 to discuss funding options and laid out a schedule to complete a
facility plan and apply for Point Source Implementation Grant (PSIG) funding.
➢ City Council authorized work to complete the facility plan on January 4, 2023. Facility plan to be submitted by
March 3, 2023. Also, Council authorized BMI to complete permit documents for permit modification due to
added treatment for nitrate removal.
➢ Testified at the Capitol on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 requesting funding for the Bliss Wastewater Treatment
Facility.
➢ Facility plan has been submitted for the City of Scandia’s Bliss Wastewater Treatment Facility along with and IUP
request and PPL application to the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority on Friday, March 3, 2023. As of June 22,
the MPCA has issued preliminary approval of this facility plan.
➢ PSIG Funding application was submitted at the end of July (2023). Received follow-up questions from the MPCA
and responses were sent at the end of August (2023).
➢ City review period for draft MPCA SDS permit ended on 4/5; the public comment period has begun and will
continue through 6/17.
➢ Initial review comments have been received from the MPCA and responses returned.
➢ Plans and specifications were submitted for MPCA review at the end of March.
➢ Response has been received on the environmental review of the project and the DNR has identified the site as
potential nesting land for Blanding’s Turtles. We are working to address the requirements associated with this
in addition to the other revisions.
➢ Comments from the MPCA have been addressed and have been certified by the MPCA as of the end of June.
➢ As of the end of June, the new SDS Permit for the Scandia WW system has been issued. This means that
groundwater monitoring well GW 008 now needs to be sealed within 180 days, as that is part of the permit
requirements.
➢ Bolton and Menk re-applied for PSIG at the end of July. The PFA has indicated that it’s unlikely that Scandia will
be in the fundable range for 2025 given the lack of a bonding bill.
➢ A meeting was conducted between City Staff, Bolton and Menk, and the MPCA on August 14th regarding lack of
project funding.
➢ Per that discussion, BMI has drafted a letter to be formally sent by the City to the MPCA which explains the
situation and all steps that have been taken (and are continuing to be taken) to try and obtain funding to
complete this required project. The letter also requested a modification to the permit schedule which would
extend the timeline to construct from 2025 to 2026 with the assumption that a bonding bill will be passed which
funds PSIG and allows Scandia a realistic path to obtaining this funding. This letter has been attached to the end
of this report for the Council’s review.
➢ The MPCA appears to be open to this process as a viable path forward. Ultimately if this is approved, we will re-
apply for both the CWRF and PSIG programs in 2025 with the goal of being funded for construction in 2026.
➢ BMI re-applied for the 2026 IUP in early June to stay on the PFA’s funding list.
➢ The MN legislature passed a bonding bill in early June, but we are still awaiting specifics prior to knowing how
this will impact our project.
➢ BMI has updated the City’s PSIG Grant Application to get the City of Scandia in line for 2026 funding. We
anticipate that we will know this fall what the City’s position is on the PSIG list. Without guarantees, all
indications are that the project should be funded 80% through PSIG this cycle.
• Highway 8 Study (Chisago to Taylors Falls)
➢ Project website: https://talk.dot.state.mn.us/hwy-8-chisago-taylorsfalls
o Comments and questions can be submitted on the project website.
➢ Schedule:
o August 2024 through December 2024
• Analyze existing conditions and engage stakeholders.
o January 2025 through August 2025
• Develop and evaluate ideas for improvements with stakeholders and public involvement.
o September 2025 through December 2025
• Finalize study recommendations.
o 2032
• Construction (pavement resurfacing).
• Highway 243 Osceola Bridge
➢ Project website: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy243osceola/index.html
➢ Public Meeting scheduled for May 10, 2023, 5:00pm-7:00pm at the Osceola Village Board Room
➢ Schedule:
o Environmental documentation and preliminary design: 2022 through 2024
o Final design: 2024 through 2026
o Anticipated construction: 2027 through 2028
• The bridge is anticipated to be closed from spring 2027 through fall 2028.
o Restoration and project completion in 2029.
➢ Project website has been updated with a location plan showing the extents of the work. The project will span the
distance between TH 95 and TH 35.
➢ Traffic Impacts are currently under review, and potential detour plans are being developed.
o See the project website for up-to-date figures.
Denise Workcuff Dmitry Tomasevich
Communications and Engagement Project manager
denise.workcuff@state.mn.us dmitry.tomasevich@state.mn.us
651-775-0025 651-245-4406
➢ The Environmental Assessment Worksheet is now available for public review and comments.
o All comments must be submitted via mail, email, or phone to Dmitry Tomasevich by December
26th.
o A copy of the EAW has been included at the end of this monthly update.
➢ The Highway 95/Highway 243/260th Street intersection roundabout construction is planned to begin in the
spring of 2026. This will be completed prior to work commencing on the bridge project.
• Gateway Trail / County Road 52
➢ Survey update
o Topo survey was completed on November 7th, 2023.
➢ Soil Boring update
o AET submitted the lowest bid at $21,382.00 to perform this work and had the soonest drill rig
availability.
o AET has been authorized to complete soil boring and hand auger boring work on 11/10/2023.
o Soil Borings are scheduled to be completed within 8-10 weeks, with a report coming a few weeks
after completion of field work (Braun was at least a month behind this schedule and came in at
$24,735.00). Hand Auger Borings in off street locations will be completed earlier prior to snowfall.
o AET has been instructed not to begin any work on site until after December 19th. Once approval
has been received, AET will begin hand auger borings (HABs) and then drill rig soil borings (SBs) a
few weeks after.
➢ AET began collecting hand auger borings (HABs) from December 22nd - 26th, and soil borings on December 26th -
29th.
➢ 30% Plans have been compiled to be discussed with City Staff, Washington County, and the DNR at the August
20th monthly meeting.
➢ 60% Plans have been compiled and discussed at our monthly meeting with City Staff, Washington County, and
the DNR on September 17th.
➢ 90% Plans are scheduled to be complete prior to the November 19th meeting with City Staff, Washington County,
and the DNR.
➢ This project will not be bid until November 2025 with construction to follow the summer of 2026. This allows the
County time to work through land acquisitions required to complete the project.
➢ 90% Plans have been completed, and remaining project items are planned to be discussed on December 17 th at
our monthly meeting with City Staff, Washington County, and the DNR.
➢ Additional easement acquisition and permitting will take place in 2025.
➢ 90% Plan comments have been received from Washington County and are being implemented.
➢ CMSCWD, and wetland impact permit applications will be applied for in the Spring per local rules requiring
contractor submittals within a year of conditional approval.
➢ Kyle Morell and Isiah Bubany met with residents at 15230 and 15240 Oakhill Road on Monday, February 3 rd to
discuss design aspects and impacts to each resident’s property.
➢ A trail site walkthrough was requested and will be conducted in the spring/early summer when weather allows
us to further discuss trail alignment location and impacts.
➢ A separate agenda item has been included that breaks down the estimated costs of this project as well as
proposed timeline moving forward.
➢ A public information meeting was held on June 11th, from 6:00pm to 8:30pm where project design aspects and
impacts to Scandia residents were discussed at length.
o The City of Scandia, Bolton & Menk, MNDNR, and Washington County all had project
representatives available to answer questions.
➢ Agencies involved with this project will be holding a meeting recap on Tuesday, June 17 th at 1:00pm to discuss
which aspects of the project could still be improved upon based on public comments.
➢ A brief project update was provided to Council at the July 2nd Council Workshop. A discussion was had regarding
project design aspects and the associated costs. The outcome of this discussion was to proceed with the project
as scheduled and to request to authorize advertisements for bid in the fall.
➢ The City of Scandia, Bolton and Menk, Washington County, and the MNDNR met multiple times in July to
continue working through finalizing the plans for this project.
➢ Plans and specs are being finalized and will be brought to Council to request authorization
to post advertisement for bids in October.