Council Report

City of Mesa — City Council (2026-07-20)

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City Council Report 
 
 
Date:  
July 20, 2026 
To: 
 
City Council 
Through: 
Marc Heirshberg, Assistant City Manager 
From:  
Lance Webb, City Engineer 
 
 
Marc Ahlstrom, Assistant City Engineer 
 
Subject: 
East Mesa Interconnect Pipeline - GMP 7 
 
 
City Project No. CP1050EM01 
Council Districts 1 and 2 
 
Purpose and Recommendation 
 
The purpose of this report is to present the last Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for 
the proposed Central Mesa Reuse Pipeline Project, a Construction Manager at Risk 
(CMAR) project. (Refer to Exhibit “A” for the project location). 
 
GMP 7 includes the procurement of 36-inch diameter concrete cylinder pipe and 
installation of the new pipeline. 
 
Staff recommend that Council award a contract for this project to Garney Companies, in 
the amount of $13,458,525 (GMP) and authorize a change order allowance in the amount 
of $1,345,852. 
 
Background 
 
Per the 2018 Water Master Plan, it was recommended to further study the feasibility of 
interconnecting several locations between plants to build redundancy and backup supply 
in the case of canal and plant outages.  As part of that feasibility, this project was identified 
to expand the interconnected capacity between the Val Vista Water Treatment Plant and 
the Brown Road Water Treatment Plant.  Construction of one mile of 36-inch waterline 
will allow for critical interconnected capacity during either outages at the Brown Road 
Water Treatment Plant, during reductions of Colorado River Water, or CAP Canal system 
dry ups.  This project will provide the City of Mesa greater flexibility in water usage from 
plant to plant.  
 
Discussion 
 
In July 2021, Staff received three “Statements of Qualifications” (SOQ) from contractors 
proposing to act as the CMAR for this project. Based on an evaluation of these SOQ’s,

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Garney Companies, Inc. was recommended as the most qualified CMAR. Staff has 
prepared a contract and negotiated the fee for the Pre-Construction Services contract. 
During the Pre-Construction Phase, the CMAR has worked closely with the project team 
to develop the project design, review the design for constructability, prepare cost 
estimates, and develop the project schedule, and project phasing plan. Given the 
proximity and timing of the Central Mesa Reuse Pipeline program, this initial phase of 
work for the East Mesa Interconnect Pipeline program was anticipated to be constructed 
as part of the overall Central Mesa Reuse Pipeline program. 
 
The last item developed during the Pre-Construction Phase is the “Guaranteed Maximum 
Price” (GMP) for the project. 
 
Once underway, construction of this project is anticipated to last no more than 7 months.  
 
This GMP is the last of a series of GMP’s relating to the Central Mesa Reuse Pipeline 
and East Mesa Interconnect Pipeline program. The table below illustrates the 
anticipated timeline of future GMP’s for Council review. 
 
Project 
Scope of Work 
Status 
Central Mesa Reuse 
Pipeline – GMP 1 
Purchase of pipe and associated 
materials 
Completed 
Central Mesa Reuse 
Pipeline – GMP 2 
16-inch waterline relocation 
within the south half of the 
project 
Completed 
Central Mesa Reuse 
Pipeline – GMP 3 
36-inch pipeline construction 
within the south half of the 
project  
Completed 
Central Mesa Reuse 
Pipeline – GMP 4 
16-inch waterline relocation 
within the north half of the project 
Completed 
Central Mesa Reuse 
Pipeline – GMP 5 
Pipe Inspections – Val Vista 
Drive 
Completed 
Central Mesa Reuse 
Pipeline – GMP 6 
36-inch pipeline construction 
within the north half of the project 
Completed 
East Mesa Interconnect 
Pipeline – GMP 7 
One mile of 36-inch pipeline 
construction between Brown 
Road and McKellips 
Start on July 27, 2026 
 
 
Community Impact –  
Temporary impacts during construction will include traffic control restrictions along the 
project route.  Construction will be phased to limit traffic impacts and maintain public 
access to businesses and local streets where feasibly possible.  Additional street impacts 
include potential left turn restrictions, lane closures, and other temporary restrictions 
necessary to facilitate the construction of the pipelines.

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Alternatives 
 
An alternative to the approval of this GMP contract for this CMAR would be to construct 
this project using the traditional Design/Bid/Build method.  This is not recommended due 
to the need for the additional services provided by a CMAR contractor during the design 
phase.  The proposed East Mesa Intercept Pipeline project will require extensive on-site 
investigation, construction sequencing, and constructability analysis by the contractor 
throughout the design phase. 
 
Another alternative is to not perform the work. This is not recommended because without 
this project, the flexibility of moving water from one plant to another will not be available 
for the City during plant outages. 
 
Fiscal Impact 
 
The total authorized amount recommended for this contract is $14,804,377, based upon 
a GMP of $13,458,525, plus an additional $1,345,852 (10%) as a change order 
allowance.  This allowance will only be utilized for approved change orders. 
 
This project is funded by the Water Capacity Fee Fund.   
 
Coordinated With 
 
The Water Resources Department concurs with this recommendation.