Subscribe
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events
Menu
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events

Water and sewer board approves $6.5M addition to new plant

in News
DEQ greenlights wastewater treatment facility construction
EBS PHOTO
Outlaw Partnersby Outlaw Partners
March 16, 2022

By Bella Butler MANAGING EDITOR

BIG SKY – The Big Sky County Water and Sewer District board broke out its checkbook at a March 15 meeting to approve significant cost increases for an addition to its new wastewater resource recovery facility, which has been under construction since last summer.  

An addition to the large-scale infrastructure project was introduced as part of the contractor’s original bid in January 2021, but the district board chose to table it at the time. Now, more than a year later, the board voted unanimously to move forward with the addition, known formally as bid alternate No. 2, but at nearly 130 percent of the initial bid.

Article Inline Ad Article Inline Ad Article Inline Ad

Phase 1 of the WRRF project will more-than double the district’s current wastewater treatment capacity when finished. Bid alternate No. 2 includes the construction of an additional tank that will expand that capacity even more. Though this addition is not part of the Phase 1 plan, the district’s executive director, Ron Edwards, said it’s more cost effective and efficient to include it in the contractor’s current scope of work.

“A lot of it’s opportunity,” he told EBS after the March 15 meeting, “because we’ve got a contract, we’ve got a batch plant, we’ve got engineering drawings … I think things will get even more expensive over time … Getting it done now makes sense.”

According to Edwards, the board chose not to approve the additional work last year in order to get the Phase 1 construction started quicker. RSCI, the contractor, initially bid the additional work at $4.9 million and said it would hold that price for a period of time.

Ahead of the March 15 meeting, RSCI rebid the work at roughly $6.4 million, due to inflated building and supply costs, RSCI Project Manager Trent Dyksterhouse explained to the board during the meeting.

While the board could have secured the cheaper bid for the additional work if the funds had been committed last year, Edwards said RSCI could still have submitted a change order with increased costs after the fact.

District board director Mike DuCuennois said at the time when the $4.9 million bid was issued, full funding for the project hadn’t yet been finalized.

“We were just nervous about taking on that additional fiscal risk prior to letting it play out a little bit more,” he said. “The decision was better to make now than before.”

Additional material testing and engineering work bring the alternate’s total closer to $6.5 million. An unallocated chunk of a $43 million First Security Bank loan to the district will fund the additional work.

At the meeting, the board also approved the use of $817,000 from its reserves to fund cleaning of its aeration pond.

Total costs for the project are $52 million, according to board director Mike Wilcynski, with more alternates likely coming into the project’s sphere of work down the road.

Outlaw Realty Outlaw Realty
Outlaw Realty
ADVERTISEMENT

Listen

Hoary Marmot Podcast

Joe Borden & Michele Veale Borden

Lastest Episode
See More Episodes

Upcoming Events

Jun 19
11:00 am - 5:00 pm Event Series

June Show at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery

Jun 20
9:30 am - 12:00 pm

Community Yoga

Jun 20
11:00 am - 5:00 pm Event Series

June Show at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery

Jun 20
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Event Series

Trivia at the Waypoint

Jun 21
9:00 am - 10:00 am Event Series

Planting the Past: Crafting Historic Seed Boxes

View Calendar
Event Calendar

Related Posts

Construction to start July 7 on 19th Avenue in Bozeman
News

Construction to start July 7 on 19th Avenue in Bozeman

June 18, 2025
Gallatin County Commission adopts safe roads action plan 
News

Gallatin County Commission adopts safe roads action plan 

June 17, 2025
BSRAD invests in ongoing community projects, microgrants 
Local

BSRAD invests in ongoing community projects, microgrants 

June 16, 2025
Big Sky OUT’s Summer Pride March draws support across Big Sky
Local

Big Sky OUT’s Summer Pride March draws support across Big Sky

June 16, 2025

An Outlaw Partners Publication

Facebook-f Instagram X-twitter Youtube

Explore Big Sky

  • About/Contact
  • Advertise
  • Publications
  • Subscriptions
  • Podcast
  • Submissions

Outlaw Brands

  • Mountain Outlaw
  • Plan Yellowstone
  • Big Sky PBR
  • Wildlands Music
  • Outlaw Partners
  • Outlaw Realty
  • Hey Bear

Copyright © 2025 Explore Big Sky | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Choices

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Yellowstone
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Real Estate
  • Events

©2024 Outlaw Partners, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Explore Big Sky Logo
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events
Subscribe
Facebook X-twitter Instagram Youtube