Pewaukee council rejects combined road/sewer bid after residents oppose sewer assessments; directs rebid for roads only

The Pewaukee Common Council voted to reject all bids for a combined road reconstruction and sanitary-sewer extension in the Hickory Grove Estates area and directed staff to rebid the project limited to road work only, the council decided after a public hearing in which many residents urged the council to drop the sewer portion.

City engineer Maggie London told the council that the project, commonly described as the Hickory Grove Estates project, would reconstruct Hickory Grove Drive, Patricia Lane, Roger Road and Sherry Drive; remove existing asphalt and base, place a new stone base and asphalt, add a 1-foot gravel shoulder, replace driveway and roadway culverts, and add a T turnaround at the end of Patricia Lane. London said sanitary sewer would extend west on Glacier Road and tie into the existing Patricia Lane sewer at the Glacier Ridge lift station; most homes would be served by gravity sewer but three homes on the east end of Patricia Lane would require private grinder pumps because gravity service would require sewers deeper than 40 feet.

The project received three public bids, with the low bid at $3,230,210.94 and the high bid $3,607,719.78. London said staff’s recommendation had been to award the contract to Globe Contractors for $3,230,210.94. Council discussion noted the city has not yet borrowed for the project and that some utility and road budgets were underfunded versus the bid results.

At the public hearing, many homeowners said their septic systems are functioning and described the private cost to connect to municipal sewer — including the lateral from the house, abandonment of the septic, plumbing work inside the home and landscaping — as onerous. "For me this would be that the cost of indoor plumbing would rise up to $120,000," resident Brent Waltz said, repeating figures provided in his comments. Jordan Him, a homeowner who moved into the neighborhood two years ago, said the cost could "cripple our family" and asked councilmembers to vote no. Others described fixed incomes, college savings and recently replaced septic systems and wells as reasons to oppose forced connections.

Residents and council members discussed newly adopted assessment caps the council had passed earlier: a sewer main cap of $20,000 per REC (residential equivalent connection), a $9,000 cap for a 6-inch lateral, and a road assessment cap of $3,329 per residential property (the 2025 road cap noted in the staff presentation). London said assessments were calculated by front footage, acreage or unit and that for this subdivision staff used a per-unit method. She gave assessment estimates in the engineers’ report (for example, an uncapped sewer main assessment value and laterals), but explained the council’s caps would limit what properties pay when the final assessments are levied.

Council members who spoke described the project as a long-term "septic relief" solution that would eliminate a temporary lift station and provide centralized wastewater treatment; London said the lift station rehabilitation would be costly and estimated a rehab could be about $1 million. Council members also said they were concerned about the project’s effect on city borrowing and on ratepayers if the sewer utility must cover a larger share of costs.

After public comment, a council motion to reject all bids for the combined project and direct staff to rebid the work as a streets-only project passed. Councilmembers were told the road-only rebid would push construction into 2026; by rebidding, the city expects to separate the road scope from the sewer scope and avoid obligating homeowners to connection costs tied to a 2025 bid package. Staff said the rebid will require reissuing plans and that the road assessment values would change with future bid prices and annual index increases.

The council’s action means the previously proposed award to Globe Contractors will not proceed. Staff told the council the sewer connection remains available as a future project and that connection to municipal sewer would remain mandatory within 15 years of a final assessment resolution for residential properties. London also reminded residents that reserve-capacity assessments for the Fox River Water Pollution Control Center (Brookfield Treatment Plant) are payable at the time of permit issuance and that the 2025 reserve-capacity rate is $3,632 per REC, increasing annually.

Council members asked staff to include clearer plans and architectural views of the proposed T turnaround and grading when the road-only bid is returned. Staff said the plans are on the city website; the council instructed staff to rebid the road-only package for a 2026 construction season.

Votes at a glance: • Motion to reject all bids for the combined road and sewer project and direct staff to rebid the street work only (road-only rebid for 2026) — motion passed (no roll-call tally provided in the record).

The rejection ends the current procurement for the combined project; council and staff flagged that rebidding will change final assessment amounts to homeowners and that the city’s adopted caps and borrowing will affect how costs are distributed once a future sewer decision is made.