Work on Lift Station 87 project could continue into 2020

The leaders of the Lift Station 87 project insist that a timeline for construction is still not finalized, but a document city staff sent to engineers indicates work could drag on into the next decade.

On Dec. 17, city project manager Steve Topovski sent a sample schedule to Robert Garland, project manager for engineering firm McKim & Creed. That schedule breaks the project into three phases — the last of which is set to conclude in March 2020.

The schedule calls for 30 months of construction on Lift Station 87, extending from June 2016 until January 2019. According to the email, the wastewater treatment facility wouldn’t come online until February 2019 — nearly three years later than required by an order from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The Lift Station 87 project team has said the effort could continue past the DEP’s deadline. In early December, staff said the project could extend into 2018, and that a fourth amendment to the order from the DEP could be required.

The failing Lift Station 7 facility that Lift Station 87 will replace would be demolished in March 2020, according to the sample schedule. The project originally targeted a 2011 completion date.

Topovski said he did not recall the specifics of that timeline, and said no schedule is officially set.

“I do not have a final timeline at this juncture,” Topovski said.

Garland, too, did not speak on the origins of the schedule, and could not say when a finalized timeline might come forward.

“We really just don’t have a schedule finalized yet,” Garland said. “We’re working with the city to get that done. I don’t want to mislead anybody with a schedule that’s too long or too short.”

Still, dates listed for pre-qualifying contractors and procuring bids line up with dates Garland mentioned at the most recent Lift Station 87 project meeting Jan. 12.

Failure to Communicate
When the city hired McKim & Creed to take over the completion of Lift Station 87 in 2013, the group said communication was one of its leading priorities.

Based on a series of emails between project officials late last year, the city may not be entirely satisfied with the engineers’ commitment to that priority. In a back and forth between Garland and Topovski, the city stated its frustration with the engineering firm’s responsiveness.

On Dec. 31, Topovski communicated a number of issues to Garland regarding the development of an executive summary for the project, which was supposed to include construction sequence, cost estimates and an updated timeline. Topovski said he had gone two weeks without hearing back from McKim & Creed regarding the executive summary.

“We are extremely disappointed in the lack of attention that has been (given) to this critical assignment,” Topovski wrote.

Topovski was also concerned about the microtunneling process, which led to the firing of the previous engineering firm in charge of the project. McKim & Creed plans to microtunnel beneath Hudson Bayou to install pipes to reroute wastewater from the existing Lift Station 7 facility.

The group has developed a list of qualifications for the microtunneling contractor, and plans to begin gathering bids in March. But Topovski felt it was unclear what role McKim & Creed’s microtunneling sub-consultant played in putting together the pre-qualifying documents.

“We continue to have to ask and inquire about their involvement in this complex effort,” Topovski wrote. “This is disturbing and unsettling to me.”

Garland told the Sarasota Observer that microtunneling sub-consultant Staheli Trenchless Consultants was responsible for drafting the pre-qualifying documents, and the confusion stemmed from a simple communication error. Garland said McKim & Creed was committed to being open and transparent.

“With any project there’s going to be perceived issues, but as with any family, you resolve them and move on,” Garland said.

Topovski said his confidence in McKim & Creed’s ability to complete the project has not waivered.
“They’re working through it,” Topovski said. “This is a very complex project, and they are working through it. I’m certain they’ll work through the issues.”

Time Trials
Although the city has said the timeline for the construction of Lift Station 87 has not yet been finalized, a document city staff sent to engineering firm

McKim & Creed in December illustrates a more prolonged project than has been discussed thus far. Here are some of the key dates in that timeline:

Aug. 25, 2015:
Microtunneling begins

Aug. 9, 2016:
Microtunneling completion

Aug. 29, 2017:
Lift Station 87 building construction begins

Feb. 4, 2019:
Lift Station 87 startup

Feb. 4, 2020:
Lift Station 7 demolition begins

March 30, 2020:
Project completion