Grants Pass locks in Carollo for five-year wastewater engineering programme

Grants Pass locks in Carollo for five-year wastewater engineering programmeGrants Pass City Council has approved a five-year wastewater master services agreement with Carollo Engineers, providing an on-call route for planning, design, permitting and construction support across the municipal wastewater system. The agreement itself carries no direct cost; individual task orders will be separately authorised under the city's purchasing policy.

Carollo was selected as the highest-scoring firm from three proposals received after a July 29, 2026 request for proposals.

The agreement covers potential work at the Water Restoration Plant, including a facilities-plan update and replacement projects for the digester gas flare, secondary clarifier, UV equipment, headworks barscreen, belt press, controls and main server.

Planned scope also includes lift-station work, Redwood conveyance upgrades to the Darneille and Redwood pumping stations, and updates to the sewer-use code and pretreatment programme.

Each task order requires a written supplement setting out scope, schedule, cost and special conditions before Carollo can begin work.

Carollo's published rates, valid through December 31, 2027, range from $110-$330 per hour for technical and professional staff, with named key personnel billed at $195-$320 per hour.

Grants Pass City Council has approved a five-year wastewater master services agreement with Carollo Engineers, creating a procurement vehicle for a broad package of treatment-plant renewal, conveyance, controls and permitting work. The agreement, approved on the September 16 consent agenda, replaces the city's existing Carollo wastewater agreement, which expires on October 13, 2026. The city issued a request for proposals on July 29 and received three submissions on August 19. A team of Public Works administration and wastewater supervisory staff completed scoring on August 31, with Carollo ranked highest. The master agreement does not commit the city to a defined expenditure. Rather, Grants Pass will issue written supplements for individual assignments. Each supplement must specify the scope, schedule, special conditions and authorised payment amount; Carollo cannot start work until it has been signed by the city. New task orders will be approved under current purchasing-policy guidelines. The potential programme is substantial. The agreement identifies a facilities-plan update for the Water Restoration Plant, alongside replacement needs for the digester gas flare, secondary clarifier, UV equipment, lift station, headworks barscreen, belt press, Robicon variable-frequency drives and programmable logic controllers, gravity thickener control panel, and the main server. It also covers Redwood conveyance upgrades to the Darneille and Redwood pumping stations, as well as updates to the sewer-use code and pretreatment programme. Carollo may provide design, construction observation and permitting assistance under the individual task orders. The agreement requires a sustainability section in all work plans. For each assignment, Carollo must submit a detailed work plan with an objective, tasks, staffing and hours, estimated direct and non-direct costs, and delivery schedule. The city retains the ability to revise unsatisfactory work products and may terminate the agreement with at least 10 days' written notice. Carollo's rate schedule is valid through December 31, 2027. Named key personnel are charged at $195-$320 per hour, while engineering and scientific staff are billed at $120-$330 per hour, depending on seniority. Technicians are priced at $110-$180 per hour, and document processing and clerical support at $130-$150 per hour. Travel and subsconsultant costs are reimbursable as defined in individual task orders. The city's staff report said the consultant had successfully completed several negotiated task orders under the prior agreement and that Public Works was satisfied with its work to date. The new arrangement is intended to provide continuing engineering capacity for the municipal wastewater system over the next five years.