Solon council approves $700,000 change order for Community Park Phase 2, declaring emergency
Loading...
Summary
The Solon City Council approved Ordinance 202555, a change order to the Mammoth Sports Construction contract for phase 2 task 5 of the Solon Community Park improvements, after staff explained scope changes and councilors debated the cost and rationale.
The Solon City Council voted to approve Ordinance 202555, authorizing Change Order No. 1 to the agreement with Mammoth Sports Construction for construction changes to phase 2 task 5 of the Solon Community Park improvements and declaring an emergency.
Council members spent the bulk of discussion probing why the change order—described in debate as a large item roughly characterized in the meeting as “about $700,000”—was needed after the project was bid. City staff said the primary driver was removal of a planned retention/detention pond from the construction plans, which required importing 6,600 cubic yards of material and additional sewer work instead of using excavated soil. Staff also said the change removed several water vaults (credited back about $11,000) and added three hydrodynamic separators (about $78,000 total), increased interior concrete from 4 inches to 6 inches in a maintenance building, and added electrical work including a generator docking station (about $63,000; equipment not included).
Why it matters: Council members said preserving flat, playable programming space at the park is a priority. Staff told the council the retention pond would have reduced usable field area on the west side of Field 1; removing the pond preserves that space, which is used for youth soccer, T-ball and summer camps. Council members who supported the change order framed the work as aligning with long-term programming needs and reducing future maintenance costs. Others urged caution about large change orders and said the council should ensure it is not repeatedly asked to approve items that should have been in the original bid.
Key details and quotes: City staff explained the timing: to meet bid schedules Mammoth obtained subcontractor bids based on plans set for bidding and later revisions produced the need for the change order. In explanation to the council, a staff member said, “in the urgency in order to get this out to bid, Mammoth had to secure bids from their subcontractors … we thought those plans were fairly set. And then when we came back and reviewed them again, due to some programming concerns … we wanted to eliminate the retention plan that was originally in the original set of bid plans.”
Councilmember Jeremy Zellwein moved the ordinance under suspension and final passage; the motion was seconded by Councilmember Khan. The council recorded unanimous roll-call votes for both suspension and final passage.
Budget and procurement notes: During debate staff said they negotiated some line-item reductions (for example, replacing rebar with fiber mesh in a floor and credit for removed vaults) and sought to limit future maintenance costs by increasing concrete thickness where deemed necessary. Staff noted the generator docking station is a docking connection only and does not include purchase of a generator.
What the council decided: The council approved Change Order No. 1 to Mammoth Sports Construction’s contract (Ordinance 202555), declared an emergency to expedite the changes, and passed final legislation the same evening.
Questions and next steps: Several council members requested more diligence on future bid scopes to avoid large change orders. Staff said some additional costs would be offset from other project budgets and that standard reporting and oversight would continue as construction advances.
