The Bryte Park Master Plan spells out renovations to existing features along with new amenities, the biggest of which is an aquatic center with a six-lane lap pool, zero entry wading pool, shaded spectator areas and a building with rooms that can be rented to the public. Photo courtesy of City of West Sacramento

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – Project contracts focused on West Sacramento’s drinking water supply and a major city park were the two largest among seven Consent Agenda items unanimously passed by the City Council at its Feb. 18 meeting.

The largest of these was a $3,620,490 contract award to Swinerton Management and Consulting, LLC for construction management and inspection services on the Bryte Park Master Plan Implementation Project. The contract also allowed for amendments up to 15%, $543,073, of the total contract value.

Bryte Park is the city’s most heavily used park, located just south of the Sacramento River near Golden State Middle School and Riverbank Elementary School. The property was owned by the Washington Unified School District, with the city improving and maintaining the park through a joint use facilities agreement.

The city adopted a park improvement master plan in 2013. The plan spells out renovations to existing features along with new amenities — the biggest of which is an aquatic center with a six-lane lap pool, zero entry wading pool, shaded spectator areas and a building with rooms that can be rented to the public.

Also in the plan is a 75-seat terraced amphitheater, splash pad with a river theme, picnic shelter, outdoor classroom, concessions building, additional basketball courts, handball court, ballfields that accommodate youth through adult baseball and softball, natural and synthetic turf sports fields and improved lighting and parking.

In 2023, West Sacramento hired Verde Design for almost $2.9 million for design, environmental review and project management on the park, with Verde estimating construction at $49.2 million. At its Nov. 28 meeting, the City Council unanimously approved staff to execute an agreement with the Washington Unified School District to purchase the 24.62-acre park for $5.42 million, an agreement that also included purchase of 4.076 acres of adjacent roadway including portions of Riverbank Road deemed “of limited use and restricted value.”

Swinerton ranked the highest among five companies submitting proposals and undergoing interviews for Bryte Park. In the city’s staff report, the Concord, California-based company demonstrated the most experience with similar projects, including aquatic facilities, and “reflected a strong understanding of the Bryte Park project, its construction challenges, and the city’s priorities related to quality, schedule, public safety, and compliance.”

Major improvements and upgrades to West Sacramento’s Bryte Park will be underway following a contract award for the Bryte Park Master Plan Implementation Project. Photo courtesy of City of West Sacramento

According to a presentation at the City Council’s Aug. 6, 2025, meeting, the city has resources to cover $27.5 million in construction costs, including a $15 million federal Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) grant. City staff were working on funding for the balance of the master plan implementation project, which has an estimated total cost of $64.36 million.

Also approved by council at its Feb. 18 meeting was a $457,432 contract amendment with Black & Veatch Corporation for design and construction support services on the city’s “High Service Manifold Project” at West Sacramento’s George Kristoff Water Treatment Plant’s High Service Pump Station (HSPS). The plant is the city’s sole source of drinking water, cleaning and treating water from the Sacramento River and pumping it via the pump station to residents.

The HSPS was constructed in 1987 and expanded in 2003-2004 from the original eight vertical turbine pumps to include space for eight additional pumps, increasing its water pumping capacity to 58 million gallons per day.

The pumping infrastructure, which includes a buried suction manifold feeding the pumps, has leaked over the years and experienced shearing of components on some buried suction piping values. In 2013, it was discovered that sodium hydroxide, a highly caustic soda or lye usually used in industrial or household cleaning products, had leaked into the soil near the HSPS, exposing buried steel pipes to the highly corrosive material.

Because the buried nature of the pumping infrastructure made routine inspection, maintenance and repair difficult, it was decided to expose the buried pipes and values and enclose them in an open vault, with plant staff access capabilities including security and safety requirements, lighting and a stairway with guard rail.

Council originally approved a $546,061 contract with Black & Veatch, including two previous amendments, in May 2023. The project was bid in April 2025, but bids came back higher than expected, ranging from over $8.1 million to just over $10.34 million, and were rejected by council in June 2025.

Staff subsequently developed a phased approach to the project, leading to Black & Veatch’s third amendment request to change the design and scope of the project. According to the staff report, “total costs and encumbrances” for the project to date total just over $2.084 million, leaving a little over $2.115 million of the total $4.2 million funding from the Water Impact Fee Fund available.

“There is sufficient funding available in the project budget, therefore, no additional funds are required or requested for this contract amendment,” staff wrote.