City staff brief council on roundabout, lift station, Lakefront Park and city‑hall resilience projects

At the retreat, staff provided a consolidated update on several capital projects and facility upgrades that will shape the city’s construction schedule over the next two years.

Roundabout: Director Dickinson and senior project manager Mike Reed are leading the roundabout project, which staff said has been awarded to Johansen Construction and is targeted for a summer 2026 start with work extending into 2027.

Sewer lift station: The Beach Drive sewer lift‑station replacement is at roughly 30% design; staff will release an RFQ to complete the 30–100% design scope and intend to sequence the lift‑station work and park construction for safety and efficiency.

Lakefront Park and appeals: Hill noted a SEPA appeal is calendared to begin March 4; while the design is ready to proceed, construction remains on hold until the appeal is resolved. If appeals are settled promptly, the park could open in 2027 and then the city would begin sewer work with safety sequencing.

City Hall resilience: After generator failures and electrical problems during a recent storm event, staff described an HVAC and generator study to right‑size the building transfer switch and generator capacity; Rebecca, who has HVAC and generator expertise, will lead the study and follow up to inform transformer sizing and potential upgrades.

Stormwater and culvert work: The L90 culvert is approximately 70% designed and will require scheduling around fish‑window permitting; staff expect an engineer's report shortly and potential construction late in the year.

Delivery challenges and capacity: Staff repeatedly flagged limited project‑management capacity within engineering and recommended extending a short‑term employee who holds institutional knowledge through 2027 to enable continuity of delivery across multiple concurrent CIP projects.