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City staff ask council to approve ~ $350,000 change order to repair corroded drainage at South Beach Park during waterfront project
Summary
Public works staff told the Fairhope council that a corroded corrugated metal drainage conduit uncovered during seawall and park work requires immediate repair; staff recommended a $350,000 change order to fix the outlet and associated infrastructure while the contractor is on site, arguing delay would force a future, more costly project.
Public works staff told the Fairhope City Council work session that contractors uncovered a corroded drainage conduit while rebuilding the seawall and stairwells at South Beach Park, and staff recommended a change order to repair the outfall and associated drainage infrastructure while the contractor is on site.
Richard Johnson, director of public works, said the drainage conduit that runs from the top of the bluff down to the seawall is corroded and failing. After inserting inspection cameras and removing stair structures, staff determined the corrugated metal pipe is rusted and is contributing to sinkholes and ongoing water issues near the newly replaced seawall. "When we removed the stairwells ... we thought the sinkholes were related to where the stairwell was. It was the pipe that was running there adjacent to it," Johnson said.
Johnson and project staff said engineers prepared plans and asked the contractor for pricing. The requested change order is roughly $350,000 to repair the line and the end-treatment at the seawall. Johnson said a comparable pre-COVID project at the north end of North Mobile Street was about $275,000; he told council members that $350,000 now is preferable to deferring the work and incurring another large repair later. "It would be bad decision making to not fix this while we have a contractor there," he said.
Staff noted the overall waterfront project is approximately $10 million and characterized the proposed change order as about a 2.5 percent modification of the total contract. Johnson said project managers believe the overall appropriation may cover the change order and that they will report final budget impacts at project closeout.
Nut graf: Staff recommended the council approve the change order to address corroded drainage conduit that is already affecting park infrastructure; doing the work now would avoid a separate future mobilization and larger repair costs, staff said.
Council members asked about the project timeline and completion targets; staff said the contractor aims to open the park's central area around the fountain before Independence Day and that the seawall work on the south side is complete. Project staff recommended approval of the change order at the council meeting to avoid delaying the repair and incurring higher costs later. No formal vote on the change order was recorded in the work-session transcript.
