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Council approves change order to remove buried debris at Highway 75 stormwater site; origin of material unclear
Summary
Sioux City approved change order No. 1 for debris removal on the Highway 75 regional stormwater improvement project after contractors found buried debris in a former cornfield; city engineer and mayor questioned the debris' origin and why it did not appear in environmental borings.
Sioux City — The Sioux City Council approved change order No. 1 to a contract with Lieber Construction for debris removal and disposal related to the Highway 75 regional stormwater improvement project after contractors encountered buried debris while excavating a site that had been a cornfield for decades.
The change order was listed on the consent agenda and passed with the other consent items. During council discussion, members sought an explanation for how debris could appear beneath an area described as farmland for roughly 40 years.
Mayor: “How in the world did debris get on that site and we didn't know it? It was a cornfield for the last 40 years. Right? What am I missing here?”
Gordon Farriss, city engineer, said the area had been farmed for a long time and that the debris likely dated to earlier activity on the property, possibly a farmhouse or building that had been buried; environmental borings and soil tests did not show the material before excavation. Farriss said the debris was encountered in the detention-basin excavations and that the city’s prior environmental testing had not detected it.
Councilmembers discussed the possibility that buildings were demolished and buried decades ago and noted that the debris was not a single localized find in the borings the city had previously taken. No one on the record attributed the debris to a specific party; Farriss said engineering staff do not know how it was placed there.
The consent agenda item approving change order No. 1 to Lieber Construction for debris removal and disposal passed as part of the consent calendar; no separate roll-call vote was requested for that specific change order. The transcript does not record a dollar amount for the change order or an estimated completion date for debris removal.
Councilmembers asked staff to follow up on the site’s history and whether historic structures could explain the buried material; no formal referral or motion was made on that follow-up during the meeting.
