Council approves change order, raises price and delays completion of Woodlake Nature Center project

The Richfield City Council on Sept. 23 approved prime contract change order No. 003 for the Woodlake Nature Center building project, increasing the guaranteed maximum price and pushing the substantial completion date to Oct. 21, 2026. Council member Burke moved approval; the motion passed. The change order reflected schedule and cost impacts tied to delays in federal grant compliance and other conditions encountered during preconstruction, staff said. "The delays were related to completing our National Environmental Policy Act review," Director Hugh Miller said, and additional reviews triggered because the building is more than 50 years old required mitigation and memorandum of agreement documents submitted to the state historical society. Why it matters: the new costs and schedule affect the city capital program and require the council to accept higher project costs to proceed with construction rather than pause or re-bid. City staff and the construction manager at-risk, Mortenson Construction, originally set a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) on Feb. 11, 2025, with construction expected to start June 6, 2025. Because federal grant funding was delayed, work did not begin until Sept. 2, 2025; that delay required additional Mortenson time on site and work to be done into colder months, increasing cost and duration. Miller said the environmental review identified no adverse environmental impacts but triggered an architectural and archaeological review that added approximately three months to the schedule and required mitigation documentation. Staff described discrete cost changes itemized by Mortenson and included in change order No. 003: an initial delay impact of $519,635.74; an additional sewer availability charge of $15,665.14; procurement of builders-risk insurance through Mortenson at a net change of $128,894.29; asbestos abatement for piping under the slab costing $2,516.01; and a reduction in tree-transplanting that saved $4,257.81. Staff reported the net change order amount increased the GMP by $662,454.37 and recorded a revised project total and schedule. Council discussion noted three scheduling options staff considered: maintain the shifted schedule (more than $1 million in additional cost), delay concrete work to spring (also more than $1 million), or accelerate fall footings to limit winter work; the latter produced the roughly $519,000 cost impact and was the approach staff is implementing. "By speeding things up in the fall to finish the concrete footings, the cost impact came back to ... $519,000," Miller said. The council approved the change order after staff answered questions about the environmental review timeline and mitigation documents submitted to the state historical society. The approval authorizes staff to proceed under the revised GMP and schedule. The council did not specify additional funding sources in the meeting record; staff said winter conditions and contractor scheduling drove much of the cost difference and that the mitigation materials include an exhibit and a report now on file with the state historical society for public reference.