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Council told archaeological finds on 200 & Eleventh Corridor far exceed initial estimates; staff seeks $71,020 contract amendment
Summary
City staff recommended a $71,020 amendment to Legacy Anthropology’s contract after crews recovered roughly 600 artifacts during cultural resource work tied to the 200 & Eleventh Corridor project; the excavation expanded beyond three test pits after prior unmonitored ground-disturbing work and contractor miscommunication increased oversight needs.
City staff recommended that the council approve a $71,020 amendment to Legacy Anthropology’s contract to perform additional archaeological oversight and artifact curation for the 200 & Eleventh Corridor project.
Engineering project manager Jim Kelly told the council the city had performed a cultural resource assessment after the project—funded with state and local funds—revealed artifacts in test probes. The city obtained an excavation permit from the Department of Historic and Archaeological Preservation (DHAP) and initially contracted Legacy Anthropology for $55,000 to identify artifacts at three test locations using 1-meter-by-1-meter excavations.
“When we started excavating, the amount of artifacts that we discovered was phenomenal. I mean, I think we're coming close to 600 artifacts collected from from the site,” Jim Kelly said. He added crews were still sifting soils when the council met, which increased labor and oversight needs and required Legacy Anthropology to bring in outside help.
Kelly described how earlier unmonitored, ground-disturbing work by the contractor required the city to expand oversight beyond the original test pits into the broader phase 3 area. He said the problem “sort of [was] a miscommunication all around” and that while the city inquired about holding the contractor accountable, there was “nothing definable” to assign financial responsibility because the artifact distribution extended across the project area.
Kelly recommended approval of a $71,020 change order to cover the additional work, including increased artifact processing and oversight; the council asked clarifying questions about the project boundary and whether the excavation scope would keep expanding (staff replied the city’s project limits set the cutoff). There was no formal recorded vote in the workshop on the amendment.
Why it matters: the discovery of hundreds of artifacts can affect construction schedules, increase cultural resource obligations and require coordination with tribes and state preservation authorities. The amendment request raises additional project cost and scheduling questions for the 200 & Eleventh Corridor work.
Staff noted artifacts were found across the phase 3 area and that the tribe involved had been notified through permit and review processes. Kelly said oversight and curation work is ongoing and that the amendment would allow Legacy Anthropology to complete artifact identification and curation.
