Change orders will bring cost of pool over projected $3.5 million
By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
The City of Elkhorn Common Council voted in favor of sending three change orders for the Sunset Park Pool project back to committee Monday night, with plans to discuss them further with the project engineer next week.
City Administrator Sam Tapson said Monday night the project is now forecasted to be more than the $3.5 million originally budgeted for the project, much of which stems from the change orders the council looked at Monday night. Tapson noted a fourth change order for earthwork, about $94,000, which was originally discussed as being $60,000.
Looking at the change orders, Alderman Tom Myrin said he didn’t feel it was right the city is responsible for paying for extra excavation costs.
“They did soil borings, they knew what they were getting into, they made a mistake, oh well,” he said. “I make a mistake, I pay for it. I think most of the businesses in here, if we make a mistake, Brian makes a mistake on a quote, he eats it. I’m sure Greg, at work, if they make a mistake on a metal treating piece, they eat it.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think this is right.”
Mayor Brian Olson noted the funds to cover the change orders would come from budgeted money set aside to cover these types of instances, with the exception of the third change order. However, if the contingency amount set aside was reached, Olson said he would agree with Myrin “100 percent.”
Alderman James D’Alessandro said in looking at the change orders, he’s concerned on the overall project and feels the committee needs to go back and sit down with Carter Arndt of MSA Aquatics and take a look at everything again.
“This is kind of alarming to have a projection that we’re going to be going $50,000 over budget,” he said.
Olson said in reality, it’s not $50,000 over budget, but nearly a quarter million over the bid.
“I think we need to slow down here…I really need to have an understanding of what’s going on here. I don’t want to support any of this right now,” D’Alessandro said.
Alderman Hoss Rehberg said he still questions the use of contingency funds to cover an error in the project.
“The gentlemen did not measure the depth of the pool,” he said. “His bid was off of what he did, had he taken a measurement, would it have been different?”
“Just because we have these so-called mistakes budgeted, doesn’t mean we need to allow them,” Myrin said. “That just makes no sense.”
Alderman Gary Payson, Sr., said he was unaware of any language in the contract that would prevent the engineer from authorizing this kind of work in the field and work for the first two change orders had already been completed, which Tapson verified.
City Attorney Ward Phillips said change orders, if approved, typically have to be paid, and he wants to see the contract to see if the City has a defense to that.
“I’m not saying you do, I’m not saying you don’t. I totally get what you’re saying, but I haven’t looked at this thing and you’re limited to whatever your contract says,” he said. “So, I want to see that before I give you an answer.”
With there being concerns with the project, Tapson said he had invited Arndt for a meeting. However, he said it needs to be understood when problems occur like this in the field, they’re probably not going to wait because it might delay the project.
Correction
City of Elkhorn Clerk noted during the Legislative and Regulatory Committee Monday night that the sexual offender residency restriction ordinance actually went into effect the day after publishing, Oct. 30, not 30 days as previously stated in an Elkhorn Independent article.
