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And city officials still aren’t sure who will shoulder the bulk of those costs — the federal government or Goodview taxpayers.
In 2005, the city estimated a $4 million cost for the plant, which will filter naturally occurring radium from Goodview’s drinking water.
Rising construction costs since 2005 are largely responsible for the increase, said Public Works director Greg Volkart. Engineers also have added a $230,000 computer control system to the project’s estimate, he said.
Engineering and contingency fees account for 35 percent of the $5.3 million estimate. Volkart believes those percentages are “extremely high” and thinks the fees can be reduced by as much as $500,000.
Engineers will spend the next three months finalizing the plant’s design, Volkart said, with the intent of soliciting construction bids in February.
Meanwhile, Goodview still isn’t sure whether it will receive a $3 million federal earmark to build the plant, said City Administrator Dan Matejka.
The earmark is included in the Water Resources Development Act bill, which passed both the U.S. House and Senate with robust majorities. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill, though Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minnesota, said there may be support for a veto override.
Goodview must be operating the plant by summer 2009 to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act.
Matejka said the city will push for an extension of the 2009 deadline from the Minnesota Department of Health, the state agency tasked with enforcing the EPA directive.
But Volkart said he “doesn’t have a lot of hope” that the bid will buy more time for Goodview.
“I don’t know if the Health Department has any choice,” he said.
Contact Mark Sommerhauser at msommerhauser@winonadailynews.com or at (507) 453-3514.
