MONROE - Change orders for the city's $24.8 million wastewater treatment plant upgrade project neared $1 million as of Aug. 12.
The Board of Public Works reviewed 11 new changes, totaling $140,900, to the project under contract with Miron Construction at its meeting Monday. The actual increases totaled $226,900, but the city was credited with $86,000 in three incidences.
All change orders on the project now total about $961,500, or 3.87 percent more than the company contracted. Approved change orders allow cost increases or decreases.
The latest change order packet will go before the city's Common Council for final approval on Tuesday.
Public Works Director Colin Simpson said changes orders on projects of this type and size typically range from 5 to 10 percent. However, he also added that engineering designs for the project were "not as thorough in the preplanning side" as they could have been.
AECom was hired to design the project and to oversee the construction. The city has inquired about getting reimbursed for change order costs for some aspects of the project that should have been included in the plans, but Simpson said AECom has responded that the plans were approved by the city's former water utilities director, Alan Eckstein.
"It's unlikely they would easily concede," Simpson added.
In the recent change orders, rock excavation resulted in cost of $89,000 extra. Subterranean rock excavation was purposefully not included in the base contract bid; the city chose to pay on a time-and-materials basis for necessary rock removal.
An iron sponge media container and four new butterfly values, scheduled to be reused, had to be replaced for $73,500, after contractors discovered they were not salvageable.
Replacement of roofs on two buildings increased in projected cost by $40,200. Additional needed work was discovered when existing roofs were removed. One rooftop was found to have missing and failing mortar; the other building had a layer of lightweight foam glass insulation that had to be removed.
About $14,200 of the change order costs went to provide an electrical panel for local building control of the new sludge pumps, an item not included in the original contract documents.
Another $9,800 went to accommodate an aeration tank wall and a discharge fallout box, which resulted in work deviations from contract drawings.
The city wastewater treatment plant was credited with $67,200, when it was discovered a digester cover did not need sandblasting recoating. The plant also received a payment of $7,800 when a new turbo blower did not meet all performance criteria and $11,000 for electricity and natural gas used by the contractor.
The Board of Public Works reviewed 11 new changes, totaling $140,900, to the project under contract with Miron Construction at its meeting Monday. The actual increases totaled $226,900, but the city was credited with $86,000 in three incidences.
All change orders on the project now total about $961,500, or 3.87 percent more than the company contracted. Approved change orders allow cost increases or decreases.
The latest change order packet will go before the city's Common Council for final approval on Tuesday.
Public Works Director Colin Simpson said changes orders on projects of this type and size typically range from 5 to 10 percent. However, he also added that engineering designs for the project were "not as thorough in the preplanning side" as they could have been.
AECom was hired to design the project and to oversee the construction. The city has inquired about getting reimbursed for change order costs for some aspects of the project that should have been included in the plans, but Simpson said AECom has responded that the plans were approved by the city's former water utilities director, Alan Eckstein.
"It's unlikely they would easily concede," Simpson added.
In the recent change orders, rock excavation resulted in cost of $89,000 extra. Subterranean rock excavation was purposefully not included in the base contract bid; the city chose to pay on a time-and-materials basis for necessary rock removal.
An iron sponge media container and four new butterfly values, scheduled to be reused, had to be replaced for $73,500, after contractors discovered they were not salvageable.
Replacement of roofs on two buildings increased in projected cost by $40,200. Additional needed work was discovered when existing roofs were removed. One rooftop was found to have missing and failing mortar; the other building had a layer of lightweight foam glass insulation that had to be removed.
About $14,200 of the change order costs went to provide an electrical panel for local building control of the new sludge pumps, an item not included in the original contract documents.
Another $9,800 went to accommodate an aeration tank wall and a discharge fallout box, which resulted in work deviations from contract drawings.
The city wastewater treatment plant was credited with $67,200, when it was discovered a digester cover did not need sandblasting recoating. The plant also received a payment of $7,800 when a new turbo blower did not meet all performance criteria and $11,000 for electricity and natural gas used by the contractor.