At the Beaver County Commission meeting, commissioners and staff discussed a mislocated water line on the Lower Loop road realignment and said they will withhold final payment to the contractor until the pipe is moved into the planned alignment.

The concern arose when a meeting participant identified as Speaker 4 said, “I just wanna make sure that that is not released and paid to Tusher until that lower line” and described earlier instructions that the water line should have been routed on the inside of the loop road rather than down the outside edge. The participant said they had provided a third-amended plat to staff before bids and expected the water line to be placed “on the inside of the loop road.”

Why it matters: If a water line remains outside the final road alignment, the county said it could have to dig and rework the line after the road is surfaced, potentially requiring change orders and added cost. Staff and contractors discussed a plan to stake the correct alignment before final acceptance.

Staff member Brandon and others said Sunrise (the engineering/contracting team) and the contractor (referred to in the meeting as Tuscher or Tusher) share responsibility for the misplacement. Speaker 4 said they had sent CAD alignment files to High Point Engineering and asked that “a guy named TJ” stake the line so crews know “exactly, physically, where it's at.” TJ (identified in the meeting as from High Point) was expected to stake the alignment at Speaker 4’s request.

Board discussion focused on preventing final payment until the alignment is corrected. A county speaker noted that the contractor “won’t be getting their final payment” while subcontractors remain to be finished and while the alignment problem is unresolved. The participants also discussed administrative steps: a change order through Sunrise is likely required and staff will confer with Devin and Tyler (staff/engineering contacts named in the meeting) and schedule a contractor walk-through and a contractor coordination meeting.

Details and constraints: meeting participants said some existing pipe could be reused, that valves and fittings may simply need relocation, and that additional excavation will be required. One participant said the staking and rework are being arranged “at my cost” by the person who raised the issue, but also stated Sunrise should have gotten it right initially and that Sunrise should address the cost if the error is theirs.

Next steps: speakers arranged for a contractor meeting on Thursday, a walk-through with engineers next week and requested that staff (including Devin) attend. Staff direction recorded in the meeting indicated final payment would not be released until the alignment issue is resolved and the work is verified by engineering staff.