GRAND FORKS – Updates on city infrastructure services to the Fufeng/Highway 81 area, including projects related to wastewater treatment and raw water supply, were presented to members of the Grand Forks City Council during Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
In June, the council approved annexing a portion of land north of the city for the likely future site of a wet corn mill, which would be operated by Fufeng Group. With the annexation comes the need for several infrastructure services not only to the plant, but for others in the area.
Infrastructure improvements for the annexation area will include work on expanding the sanitary sewer collection system; expanding the storm sewer collection system; sanitary lift stations along with forcemain for domestic and industrial users in the area; and stormwater pond outfall and discharge infrastructure.
City Administrator Todd Feland provided council members with a three-year timeline for some of the annexation area improvements. For next year, improvements will be made on the 33rd Avenue North roadway along with utility improvements on the storm pond, deep sanitary sewer, pump stations and 27th Avenue utilities.
In 2024, roadway improvements will be made to 27th Avenue North with utility improvements on the Highway 81 shallow sewer, the 30th/33rd/Highway 81 watermain, the trunk storm sewer and pond outfall, raw water to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and forcemain to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Improvements in 2025 will include roadway upgrades on 33rd and 30th Avenue North and utility improvements on the north annexation area watermain.
Council members on Monday gave preliminary approval for several projects related to infrastructure services. One project is to create a special assessment district and to direct the engineering department to prepare plans and specifications along with advertising for bids for constructing a new watermain along 27th Avenue North from North 39th Street to Highway 81. The watermain will provide service and fire protection to the properties adjacent to the project.
Another project entails a new stormwater pond, temporary outfall pipe and temporary access road to the end of public right of way for Highway 81 and the associated area. The pond will be located on the west side of North 30th Street between 30th Avenue North and 33rd Avenue North. It will serve the existing properties near Highway 81 as well as current and future industrial and commercial developments in the area.
A series of engineering task orders for design, bidding and construction engineering services related to the sanitary master lift station 50, the watermain for the Peony Addition and Highway 81 area, Fufeng raw water from near lift station 50 to North 42nd Street and the sanitary forcemain from lift station 50 to North 42nd Street also received preliminary approval from the council.
Another large project is the expansion of the city’s Wastewater Treatment Facility. A 2022 Facility Plan Update is identifying ways to increase the treatment capacity. The update recommends that the Wastewater Treatment Facility be expanded to a total hydraulic capacity of 22.2 million gallons per day in the year 2045.
Council members have already approved using a construction manager at risk project delivery for Wastewater Treatment Facility improvement projects. Monday, council members gave preliminary approval for the final design and a bidding phase engineering services agreement for phase two design with AE2S in the amount of $5.12 million.
In other news Monday, council members: