Consultant to evaluate qualifications

The Shell Rock River Watershed District has hired a firm to assist with hiring a firm.

The Board of Managers on Monday approved an agreement with an environmental consulting firm to help district officials find a company to dredge Fountain Lake.

The agreement, with Natural Resource Technology of Milwaukee, is for $51,400.

The company will draft a document that defines the details of the project — including existing data, the project schedule and the pros and cons of different types of dredging — and will complete a formal request for qualifications from dredging companies around the country, according to the agreement.

Natural Resource Technology will evaluate the companies for engineering and design capabilities, overall organizational history and qualifications, health and safety record, projects completed and experience with permitting, among other criteria.

The firm will review and summarize the results and help pick the top contractors.

Behnke said district staff and the board’s dredging committee have been working since early October to find a consultant with dredging expertise that can help guide them through the dredging process.

“This is an important step to move us toward the final bidding stage,” he said.

He said he learned about the company through a dredging association he is a part of.

“I’m confident in their experience in the dredging world,” he said.

District staff have been preparing for the dredging since 2003 by completing projects in the tributary watershed including carp removal, installation of fish barriers, renovating dozens of failed septic systems and installation of buffer strips on farm land.

In June, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a ceremonial bill for $7.5 million in state funds, and the district has $7.5 million to match from a half-cent sales tax in Albert Lea.

The district in 2012 purchased a 2010 IMS 7012 HP 51-foot Versi hydraulic dredge for about $340,000, along with the pipes, pumping and other equipment necessary to pump the dredge material away from the lake for $435,000. It is not clear whether that dredge will be used for the entire lake.