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06.p Engineering Updates 12-16-2025 City of Scandia Engineering Updates 12/16/2025 Engineering Italics = Old information Red = Projects to be removed from report • 2026 Street Improvement Project (197th Street) ➢ Topo survey was collected over multiple days in early August 2025. ➢ Soil Boring draft logs were received from AET on August 26, 2025. ➢ A public meeting was held for residents on September 8, 2025. o A presentation providing background information and proposed improvements was given by City Staff along with Bolton and Menk. o Design aspects, construction timeline, residential impacts, and other factors were discussed at length with property owners. ➢ Anticipated project schedule is as follows: o Approve Plans & Specifications/Authorize Ad for Bid – January 20, 2026. o Bid Opening – March 4, 2026. o Consider Contract Award at City Council Meeting – March 17, 2026. ➢ A survey was sent to residents at the end of October requesting information regarding access to their properties. The survey will help us determine working hours, completion dates, and traffic impact mitigation options for the project. ➢ We are planning to hold a meeting for resident feedback in early January. ➢ Survey results have been received and are being reviewed. ➢ 60% Draft Plans will be completed and sent to the City Staff for review by the end of December. Upon receiving and implementing City comments, a public meeting will be scheduled in January with residents to present the project and receive additional feedback on the improvements. • 2026 Scandia Trails Project ➢ Anticipated project schedule is as follows: o Approve Plans & Specifications/Authorize Ad for Bid – February 17, 2026. o Bid Opening – March 11, 2026. o Consider Contract Award at City Council Meeting – March 17, 2026. ➢ Topo Survey is scheduled to be completed by October 24, 2025. ➢ Continued coordination is being had with the Scandia Heritage Alliance group and CMSCWD. o Variances will be required from CMSCWD in order to construct the project as desired. ➢ 60% Draft Plans will be completed and sent to City Staff for review by the end of December. ➢ Additional coordination will take place with the Scandia Heritage Alliance group over the next few weeks to complete the boardwalk design. • 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. ➢ Contractor’s request for Payment No. 4 has been included as a separate agenda item. ➢ The punch list still has a few restoration items remaining that must be addressed prior to project closeout. These remaining items will need to be completed in the Spring before final closeout. • 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. ➢ North Pine plans to begin corrective work on the basins next week and is aiming to be completed by the end of October. ➢ Corrective work began in mid-November and has had preliminary reviews conducted by CMSCWD for general compliance. ➢ CMSCWD will confirm the functionality of the recently re-worked basins in the spring. • 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. ➢ 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). ➢ 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 in early November what the City’s position is on the PSIG list. The goal, and hope, is to be positioned to obtain 80% of the project funding through the PSIG grant program, with the remainder covered by CWRF low interest loan. ➢ At the time of preparing this update, we have been told the draft IUP could be released on Friday 11/14/2025. However, these dates have been delayed multiple times in the past. A verbal update will be provided if additional information is released prior to the 11/18/2025 Council Meeting. ➢ A separate agenda item has been included to request the approval of plans, specifications, and authorize advertisements for bid. • Highway 95 Future Project Schedule ➢ Street Improvement Projects: o 2026 Roundabout at Highway 95/243 intersection. o 2026 Highway 95 at CSAH 26 LTL construction and CSAH 26 realignment. o 2026-2029 Osceola Bridge Project. • Schedule previously outlined later in this report. ➢ Chip Improvement Projects (typically these projects are placeholders, and often shift based on funding availability): o Fiscal Year 2030 – Highway 95 from TH 97 to TH 36 (resurfacing). o Fiscal Year 2032 – Highway 95 from US 8 to TH 97 (resurfacing). • 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 June 2026 • 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 2025 o Final design: 2025 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. ➢ 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. ➢ A request to approve plans and specs and authorize advertisements for bids has been included as a separate agenda item. ➢ Plans and Specifications were posted soliciting bids at the end of October. Bids will be opened on Wednesday, November 19th and reviewed prior to conducting an informational meeting with residents and bringing a final recommendation back to Council in December. ➢ Bids were opened and read publicly on Wednesday November 19th. City Staff, Bolton and Menk, Washington County, and the MNDNR have reviewed and discussed the bids received to formulate a project presentation and ultimate recommendation for the project award consideration. ➢ A public meeting was held on December 10th to present the bid information and the plan moving forward; after which, public comments were received and discussed. ➢ Bid results and a recommendation of award have been included as a separate agenda item.