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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, September 21, 2009 Page 7 Mr. Schwartz noted that the area represented 6,000 lineal feet of watermain; mod- eling of flows and pressures; part of the old main through Ramsey County open space and connecting with the neighborhood to the northeast; and abandonment of a portion of the line when the City previously constructed a section of the Victoria watermain. Mr. Schwartz advised that, with relocation of the line from rear yards to City right-of--way, and other design elements, elimination of approximately 3,000 lineal feet of line will be realized, reducing construction and future mainte- nance costs. Mr. Schwartz briefly reviewed the proposed directional borings, reducing the need for more disruptive construction and access to private properties, with 57 of the 64 property owners having provided waivers of trespass to allow access for completion of the work; minimal disruption to private property based on the di- rectional borings; as well as minimal disruption to affected property owners dur- ing construction, estimated at no more than four 4 hours. Mr. Schwartz noted that six bids had been received; and staff recommended award to the low bidder, GM Contracting, Inc., in the amount of $588,399.99. Discussion included cost of the original lining project (over $417,000); actual time of disruption for homeowners less than a typical watermain break, of which the City had been experiencing two per annum; no assessment costs for the con- struction, with funding through the City's Water Fund from ongoing fees; and why there were some property owners having yet to provide waivers to access their land. City Engineer Debra Bloom advised that staff would resolve those few remaining issues in the coming week; with some being vacant and difficulty in tracking down property owners; and staff foreseeing no issues in obtaining those waivers. City Attorney Squires expressed ,some concern in the process of awarding the contract without the access waivers for all properties in hand; cautioning staff, the City Council, and property owners, that this could create cost overruns and delays in the project in connecting lines and providing access to the water lines for those properties. City Attorney Squires encouraged homeowners to make every attempt to resolve these outstanding waivers without delay by recognizing the implica- tions in the contractor not having the ability to access the property as necessary for construction purposes. City Attorney Squires noted that those not providing access waivers would not have water service; and that those homeowners would not have the privilege of delaying the project for their approval; and encouraged staff to provide this information to property owners as an added incentive to com- plete the paperwork at their earliest convenience.