Title
Proposed Amendment No. 1
Contract No. 2203638/SCN-0000388
Engineering Project Management and Inspection Staff Augmentation
O&M
Body
Agenda of: September 24, 2025
Item No.: 2025-255
Amount: Original Contract $2,300,000.00
Proposed Amendment No. 1 5,700,000.00
Total Contract Amount $8,000,000.00
TO: The Honorable
Board of Directors
Great Lakes Water Authority
FROM: Suzanne R. Coffey, P.E.
Chief Executive Officer
Great Lakes Water Authority
DATE: August 4, 2025
RE: Proposed Amendment No. 1
Contract No. 2203638/SCN-0000388
Engineering Project Management and Inspection Staff Augmentation
Vendor: PMA Consultants, LLC
Status: Amendment/Change Order
MOTION
Upon recommendation of Navid Mehram, Chief Operating Officer - Wastewater Operating Services, the Board of Directors (Board) of the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), authorizes the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to enter into Contract No. 2203638/SCN-0000388, Proposed Amendment No. 1 “Engineering Project Management and Inspection Staff Augmentation” with PMA Consultants, LLC, at an increased cost of $5,700,000.00 for a total cost not to exceed $8,000,000.00 and an increased duration of one (1) year for a total duration of four (4) years; and authorizes the CEO to take such other action as may be necessary to accomplish the intent of this vote.
BACKGROUND
The Wastewater Engineering Team is responsible for delivering the Wastewater Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) estimated at over $2 billion in the next 10 years, with nearly $1.4 billion currently under contract. The current and future capital projects are focused on making necessary improvements to the wastewater system, including the collection system, the Sewage Pumping Stations (SPS), the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) facilities, and the Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF). These CIP projects are necessary to ensure proper system operation during dry and wet weather, and to ensure compliance with all regulatory driven requirements. The projects focus on increasing the resilience of the system, through major rehabilitation, or completely new systems/processes to take the wastewater system into the future. Proper execution of these projects is critical to permit compliance and to meet the planned CIP execution.
GLWA CIP execution is complex and not just limited to progressing design and construction. The engineering team members ensure the projects are properly coordinated and informed so that years after the project is completed and turned over (and during the various phases of execution) the system is functional with limited issues which arise and change the complexion of the project from a successful one to one that requires future improvements. Therefore, having proper staffing levels within engineering with the necessary skillsets, is critical to executing the planned CIP and overall success.
Furthermore, proper execution of any project requires owner representation in the field to ensure the Contractor is providing and installing all materials, equipment, and supplies in accordance with the contract. The requirements for the inspector’s presence vary by project. Some projects require full-time inspection while others can be fine with part-time inspection. The GLWA wastewater inspection team currently consists of five inspectors who supply inspection services for the various CIP and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) projects. Often the largest projects include inspection services by a successful consultant, but there are smaller projects where GLWA attempts to provide its own inspection.
This contract leverages PMA Consultants and several other subconsultants to provide as needed services to GLWA for project management and inspection support throughout the wastewater infrastructure.
JUSTIFICATION
Based on the growing demands of the wastewater CIP program, this contract has been utilized to service approximately 45 contracts/task orders, including assisting with drafting procurement documents, managing design and construction contracts, schedule reviews, and providing inspection services. There are currently five project managers (both full and part-time) that are responsible for managing projects and two full-time inspectors providing support for active projects under this Contract.
For PMA Consultants and its subconsultants to continue sustaining this level of effort (approximately 6.7 full-time equivalent project managers and inspectors) are needed through November 2027. This amendment increases the available funding and provides an extension for the duration of the contract. Approximately 1/3 of the effort to date is to support Operations and Maintenance activities and 2/3 for Capital Improvement Projects.
GLWA’s Program Manager previously recommended that the Wastewater Team consist of 17 to 21 Life Cycle Project Managers to manage our current workload of active contracts. Currently, GLWA has five Life Cycle Project Managers. While GLWA continually works to directly hire a sufficient number of Project Managers to staff these projects, the required skills and experience for such a demanding position are still in high demand in the current labor market from other owners, contractors, and consultants, and it is expected that this Contract will still be needed through 2027 to support the GLWA capital execution of Wastewater CIP projects.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT STATUS
Original Contract Time 3 years (11/27/2023 - 11/26/2026)
Proposed Amendment No. 1 1 year (11/27/2026 - 11/27/2027)
New Contract Time 4 years (11/27/2023 - 11/27/2027)
PROJECT ESTIMATE
Original Contract Price $2,300,000.00
Proposed Amendment No. 1 5,700,000.00
New Contract Total $8,000.000.00
FINANCIAL PLAN IMPACT
Summary: This contract will be available for Wastewater Engineering for Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) projects on an as-needed basis. This contract is designed to provide assistance when needed to ensure efficiency and competence in the execution of Engineering projects. The use of this contract will be controlled by the consistent application of current requisition and approval practices; individual engineering projects requested being reviewed against the available budget within each cost center. With these controls in place, this contract is within the financial plan.
Funding Source (depending on task):
Wastewater Construction Fund (5421)
Wastewater Operations & Maintenance Fund (5960)
Cost Center: Wastewater Engineering (892211)
Capital Improvement Program (880000)
Expense Type (depending on task): Capital Allocation: Non-personnel
Contractual Professional Services
Capital Outlay over $5,000
Estimated Cost by Year and Related Forecast Variance: As noted above, the services provided under this proposed contract may be used by Wastewater Engineering for various projects. Due to the nature of this contract the budgeted values are estimated and would not be known until a specific task is requested.
The table below demonstrates the funding of awarded tasks and projects under the contract through June 2025.
Funding Source Amount Percentage
O&M Tasks $308,909.75 30.3%
CIP Tasks & Projects $709,317.38 69.7%
Total awarded Tasks & Projects $1,018,227.13 100.0%
COMMITTEE REVIEW
This item was presented to the Operations and Resources Committee at its meeting on September 10, 2025.
SHARED SERVICES IMPACT
This item does not impact the shared services agreement between GLWA and DWSD.