MILLS, Wyo. — After years of delay, to provide a safe and reliable water supply to residents, the Mills City Council has accepted a bid to build a water tank on faith it will find hundreds of thousands of dollars before the project is completed in late 2024.
On Dec. 12, the Mills City Council voted 5-0 to accept a $1.81 million bid from Andreen Hunt Construction of Mills to build a second, 200-million-gallon finishing tank at the city water treatment plant.
An official notice to award the bid will be included on the Jan. 9, 2024, Mills City Council meeting agenda, according to City Administrator Mike Coleman.
Andreen Hunt submitted the lowest of three qualified bids. JR Civil of Sheridan bid $2.04 million and Oftedal, Miles City, Montana, bid $2.42 million.
The projected final completion date is Dec. 10, 2024, according to City Engineer Matt Williams.
Mills’ only water tank in use now is 40 years old.
The second tank will add capacity to the treatment process, and add redundancy to the system, and will allow the city to take the older tank offline, thus allowing for necessary maintenance that has not been done due to the treatment process, according to Williams.
The City of Mills has obtained grant funding for the new tank from the state, yet with rising costs must find hundreds of thousands more to meet the accepted project bid amount.
According to Wyoming Business Council documents, in 2020 the WBC Board awarded Mills a $425,200 Community Development Block Grant with a $106,201 City of Mills match to build a new finished water storage tank, expected to cost $531,500 at the time.
“The current finished water storage tank is 38 years old and the interior tank coating is failing, which is subjecting the tank to corrosion,” the 2020 WBC document states. “There is a check valve that makes the tank more likely to intrusion by rodents, which could result in significant water safety issues.
“The finished water tank is critical to the town being able to provide water that meets drinking water standards,” states the WBC document.
State funds come from $3.1 million received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Community Development Block Grant program. The funding is available to Wyoming cities, towns and counties for projects that meet a national objective, including those that benefit low-to-moderate income clientele, eliminate slum or blight, or present an urgent threat.
The water tank project grant was awarded to Mills before the onset of the COVID pandemic, which delayed the project.
In 2022, the Wyoming Legislature appropriated $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act direct funds to the Wyoming Department of Health for the Health and Human Services Innovation Fund and another $5 million for the Health and Human Services Capital Improvement and Provider Relief Fund.
At that time the City of Mills sought emergency funding to cover a shortfall of money needed for the finished water tank project at the Mills Water Treatment Facility.
The State Loan and Investment Board awarded a $837,740 American Rescue Plan Act Grant to the City of Mills for its water tank project.
According to a City of Mills ARPA Grant agreement signed by Mayor Leah Juarez in January, the SLIB will reimburse the City of Mills for project expenses up to the grant award amount. The document says all expenses must be incurred by Oct. 30, 2024, and spent by Dec. 31, 2026.
Combined, the state grants plus the City of Mills match total $1.37 million, leaving at least a $442,260 shortfall based on the $1.81 million Andreen Hunt bid and grant award documents.
The Mills finish water tank project includes demolition and removal of in-ground salt storage tanks; installation of a ground water tank foundation and 200,000 gallon welded epoxy coated water tank; underground process connection piping with pipe, fittings and valves; disinfection of water tank and water line; fencing and other site improvements, according to the legal notice.
Bids, due Nov. 30, were opened Dec. 5.
Facing a 30-day deadline to accept a bid, council members during a Dec. 12 council work session discussed accepting the $1.81 million bid despite the budget overage.
“I think we should say, ‘Yes,’” Mayor Leah Juarez said. “It will give us about a year to find the remaining funding.”
Councilor Brian Neumiller said the good thing about accepting the bid now is the price won’t keep rising.
“We’re not looking at another $700,000 [added cost],” he said.
