Old Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project - (Catfish Creek Middle Fork) Consulting Engineering Services Contract Execution
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Old Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project
(Catfish Creek Middle Fork) [CIP #5581500053]
Consulting Engineering Services Contract Execution
DATE: September 22, 2025
City Engineer Gus Psihoyos is recommending City Council execution the negotiated
contract with HDR Engineering for engineering services for the design of the Old Mill
Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork).
On August 4, 2025, The Engineering Department requested authorization to negotiate
an engineering services contract with HDR Engineering to provide for the design of the
Old Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle
Fork).
The Engineering Department has successfully negotiated a scope of services and fees,
with HDR Engineering, for engineering services that will provide for the City’s overall
project objectives and long-term goals of the sanitary sewer system.
The project design will be funded with revenue from a State Revolving Fund (SRF)
Planning and Design (P&D) Loan in the amount of $3,600,000 for the design of the Old
Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork)
[CIP# 5581500053]. The specific design fee will be negotiated.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
_____________________________________
Michael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:sv
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
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Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer
Jenny Larson, Chief Financial Officer
Laura Bendorf, Budget Manager
Todd Irwin, Water Resources Project Supervisor
Maxwell O’Brien, Civil Engineer
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TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer
DATE: September 22, 2025
SUBJECT: Old Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project
(Catfish Creek Middle Fork) [CIP #5581500053]
Consulting Engineering Services Contract Execution
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memo is to seek execution of the negotiated design contract with
HDR Engineering to provide engineering services for the Old Mill Road Lift Station Phase
3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork).
BACKGROUND
The Fiscal Year 2026 proposed CIP Catfish Creek Sewershed Interceptor Sewer
Improvements – Middle Fork (now referred to as “Old Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3
Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork)”) [CIP# 5581500053] budget
includes a total budget $23,800,00.00 for the project design and construction, with
revenue from State Revolving Fund Loans and Sanitary Sewer Construction Funds. The
initial project efforts in FY26 will be for the design and permitting of the project.
This project provides for systematic upgrades to the Catfish Creek Sanitary Interceptor
Sewer system which branches out along the Middle Fork Catfish creek. The system will
also be upsized along the Middle Fork Catfish Creek from Old Mill Road 9.9 miles to the
Dubuque Industrial Center West. The Catfish Creek Interceptor Sewer was constructed
circa 1960. Extending westward from the Water & Resource Recovery Center, it has
allowed for the development of nearly 2,500 acres over the last two decades which
includes residential subdivisions, the Dubuque Industrial Center West, and service to the
Dubuque Metro Solid Waste Agency. The existing sanitary sewer was identified as being
at or exceeding capacity. The funding request will provide for the design, permitting, and
easement acquisition for sewer upsizing along the Middle Fork interceptor from Old Mill
Road to Brunskill Road.
On June 6, 2025, the City advertised a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to retain a
professional service consultant to aid the to assist with the development of the Old Mill
Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork).
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On August 4, 2025, The Engineering Department requested authorization to negotiate an
engineering services contract with HDR Engineering to provide for the design of the Old
Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork).
DISCUSSION
The Engineering Department has successfully negotiated a scope of services and fees,
with HDR Engineering, for engineering services that will provide for the City’s overall
project objectives and long-term goals of the sanitary sewer system.
The City has received and reviewed the attached Scope of Services from HDR
Engineering. The attachments provided describe each task series below in more detail:
- Task Series 100: Project Management
- Task Series 200: SRF Program & Facility Plan
- Task Series 300: Topographic Survey
- Task Series 400: Design Phase Services
- Task Series 500: Easement & Property Acquisition
- Task Series 600: Bidding Phase Services
- (As Authorized Services) Task Series 700: Construction Phase Services
RECOMMENDATION
I recommend that the execution of this contract be placed on the soonest available City
Council meeting agenda in order to support the accelerated schedule of this project.
I further recommend that the City enter into the engineering services contract with HDR
Engineering for engineering services for the design of the Old Mill Road Lift Station Phase
3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork).
BUDGET IMPACT
The project design will be funded with revenue from a State Revolving Fund (SRF)
Planning and Design (P&D) Loan in the amount of $3,600,000 for the design of the Old
Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork)
[CIP# 5581500053]. The specific design fee will be negotiated.
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The total SRF Planning and Design loan request that was approved by Council during the
April 7, 2025 meeting is summarized as follows:
Description Estimate
Administrative, Financial & Legal expenses $ 100,000
Engineering Planning & Design expenses $ 2,650,000
Land (only after Environmental Review Clears) $ 500,000
Archaeological/Environmental $ 300,000
Equipment $ 50,000
Total Planning & Design Loan Request $ 3,600,000
The total project funding adopted in the FY26 CIP budget is summarized as follows:
Old Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle
Fork) Funding
Fund
Source FY26 FY27 FY28 FY29 TOTAL
Sanitary
Sewer
Construction
Fund
$ 250,000 $ 250,000 $ 0 $ 0 $ 500,000
*SRF Loan
Engineering
& Design
$ 500,000 $1,500,000 $1,300,000 $ 300,000 $23,300,000
*SRF Loan
Construction $ 500,000 $4,650,000 $5,950,000 $8,200,000
*SRF Loan
Easement &
Land
Acquisition
$ 0 $ 400,000 $ 0 $ 0 $ 400,000
TOTAL $1,250,000 $6,550,000 $7,500,000 $8,500,000 $23,800,000
*Note: The SRF Loan amount shown in the CIP budget reflects both the SRF Planning & Design
Loan already acquired in April 2025 as well as the separate SRF Construction Loan to be acquired
in the future through the design process, anticipated to be obtained during FY27.
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The estimated fee for each of the identified task series described in the attachments are
as follows:
Old Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek
Middle Fork) Estimated Fee by Task Series and Expenditures by Fiscal Year
Task Series
Description FY26 FY27 FY28 FY29
Total Fee
(Not to
Exceed)
Task Series 100: $81,876 $71,642 $30,703 $20,469 $204,690
Task Series 200: $153,487 $- $- $- $153,487
Task Series 300: $184,837 $- $- $- $184,837
Task Series 400: $955,837 $514,681 $- $- $1,470,518
Task Series 500: $4,163 $16,652 $- $- $20,815
*Task Series 600: $- $45,567 $- $- $45,567
**Task Series 700: $- $437,580 $729,301 $291,720 $1,458,601
Total Expenditures
(Not to Exceed) $1,380,200 $1,086,122 $760,004 $312,189 $3,538,515
*Note: There is a potential that the project will be split into multiple bid packages due to funding
or property acquisition schedule. If this occurs, the bidding (task 600) and construction (task 700)
fees would increase by ~$50,000 and $500,000 respectively.
**Note: Task 700 includes on site construction inspection services by HDR Engineering totaling
~$772,000; this fee will only be awarded as authorized by the City at the time the project is bid
for construction. Costs incurred by task series 700 will be paid for under a separate SRF
Construction Loan to be acquired in the future through the design process.
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BUDGET COMMITTMENT
Due to the magnitude of anticipated costs for this project, and in an effort to keep sanitary
sewer utility rates low, the project was funded through multiple fiscal years (FY26-29).
The FY26 CIP budget was initially estimated and submitted in late 2024, well prior to the
application deadline for the SRF Planning & Design Loan (P&D Loan) on April 1, 2025.
The submitted FY26 CIP budget was used as support documentation for the P&D Loan,
which was closed in July 2025, with the full amount currently available for the City to utilize
for the design of this project. SRF Planning & Design loans are interest free and do
not require payments or repayment of the loan amount for up to three years. At the
end of the three year period, the P&D Loan must be rolled into the SRF construction loan
for the project being designed, or be repaid to the SRF Program. The tables above identify
the SRF P&D Loan amount of $3,600,000, of which a portion is intended to fund the HDR
design contract Tasks 100 through 600 in the amount of $2,079,914. The remaining
balance of the SRF P&D Loan will be utilized to pay for other design related services
outside of the HDR Engineering contract, such as staff time and geotechnical
investigations.
It is important to note that the City Council has already authorized encumbering future
fiscal year budgets, for this project, (April 7, 2025 City Council meeting) by authorizing
the P&D loan application submittal and closing on the SRF P&D loan. The City Council’s
action committed the City to encumbering the future FY26 budget amount and a portion
of the future FY27 budget amount for the repayment of the P&D loan. Typically, the
repayment amount, of the P&D loan, will be included as part of the SRF construction loan
amount. The funding to construct this infrastructure project is currently budgeted for FY27
through FY29.
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BUDGET CORRECTION
As shown in the Budget Impact portion of this memo, the anticipated yearly expenditures
identified for FY26 will exceed the approved FY26 CIP funding.
- Approved FY26 SRF Funding: $1,000,000
- Anticipated FY26 SRF Expenditures for Design: $1,380,200
Since the initial FY26 budget submittal, staff have identified that the FY26 budget
expenditure showed $500,000 of Engineering & Design and $500,000 of construction.
Construction for this project is not anticipated to begin until at least FY27, so the full
$1,000,000 of identified SRF expenditures for this project will be identified for Engineering
& Design and not for construction.
Again, it is important to note that the P&D Loan was closed in July 2025, with the full
amount currently available for the City to utilize for design of this project. The fees for the
HDR Engineering contract are within the total amount of the executed P&D Loan.
Engineering will be adjusting the requested CIP funding for this project through the FY27
budget request process to include all funding for construction in FY27 so that all budgeted
funding is available to support the SRF Construction loan application, and to open a
purchase order for the full amount of the construction contract. The table “Old Mill Road
Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork) Funding”
under the Budget Impact portion of this memo summarizes the current funding allocations
per fiscal year for this project.
ACTION TO BE TAKEN
I respectfully request execution the negotiated contract with HDR Engineering for
engineering services for the design of the Old Mill Road Lift Station Phase 3 Sanitary
Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork).
Prepared by Maxwell O’Brien, Civil Engineer
cc: Jenny Larson, Chief Financial Officer
Laura Bendorf, Budget Manager
Todd Irwin, Water Resources Project Supervisor
Maxwell O’Brien, Civil Engineer
Page 10 of 701
Prepared by Gus Psihovos City of Dubuque Engineering 50 W. 1311 St. Dubuque IA 52001 (563) 589-4270
Return to Adrienne N, Breitfelder City Clerk City of Dubuque, 50 W. 13`" St. Dubuque, IA 52001 (563) 589-4100
RESOLUTION NO. 309 - 25
RESOLUTION EXECUTING PROFESSIONAL DESIGN SERVICES CONSULTANT
CONTRACT WITH HDR ENGINEERING TO COMPLETE THE OLD MILL ROAD LIFT
STATION PHASE 3 SANITARY INTERCEPTOR PROJECT (CATFISH CREEK
MIDDLE FORK)
WHEREAS, the City in collaboration with HDR Engineering, developed a
consultant scope of work and a negotiated fee for design services in the amount of
$2,079,914 for Professional Consultant Services to complete the Old Mill Road Lift Station
Phase 3 Sanitary Interceptor Project (Catfish Creek Middle Fork) project.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF DUBUQUE, IOWA, THAT:
SECTION 1. The City Manager is authorized and directed to execute the
Professional Design Services Consultant Contract with HDR Engineering.
Passed, approved, and adopted this 23rd day of September 2025.
Attest:
Adrienne N. Breitfelder, City Clerk
Brad M. Ca ugh, Mayor
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SECTION VI. SPECIAL PROVISIONS
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the day
and year first written above.
City of Dubuque, Iowa
"OWNER"
NAME: Mike Van Milligen
TITLE: City Manager
ADDRESS: 50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
HDR ENGINEERING, INC.
"ENGINEER"
BY:
NAME: Ann Williams
TITLE: Senior Vice President
ADDRESS: 1917 South 67th Street
Omaha, NE 68106-2973
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