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Wagoner County approves pay application for Okie Porter Road but delays $48,229 change order tied to utility work
Summary
Commissioners approved pay application No. 4 for Accuracy Underground totaling $107,901.44 for the ARPA-funded Okie Porter Road project but deferred action on a $48,229.68 change order after auditors said ARPA funding cannot be increased and the county finance office was not notified in advance.
Wagoner County commissioners on April 20 approved pay application No. 4 for Accuracy Underground totaling $107,901.44 for work on the ARPA-funded Okie Porter Road project, but they held off on approving a related change order for $48,229.68 that county staff said was not properly authorized before work began.
County finance staff told commissioners the change order was submitted with pay application No. 5 without prior approval and that, because the project is funded entirely with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, the county has no additional ARPA funds available to cover an unapproved increase. The clerk’s office recommended resolving the paperwork and funding trail with Myers Engineering and returning the change order for formal board action.
Myers Engineering representative Jennifer Feargard told the board the additional work resulted from utility lines missed on the original survey and that the firm and the town of Porter had been attempting to address immediate utility outages. Feargard said the situation was complicated by a year‑end reallocation of ARPA funds and apologized for any impression of concealment: "That is not the case, and I apologize if you got that impression from my email."
Commissioners and staff said Myers had proposed covering part of the extra cost by reducing its own fee, but county officials said ARPA reporting rules and the timing of the funding changes left the county without authority to reassign those funds internally. The board directed Myers Engineering to reconcile invoicing and funding with county staff and to return with documentation; the change order remained pending.
The board approved pay application No. 4 by roll call. Motion: approve pay application No. 4 to Accuracy Underground for $107,901.44. Moved by Randy; second by Tim. Vote: Commissioner Henning — Aye; Commissioner Stamps — Aye; Commissioner Kelly — Aye. Outcome: approved.
County staff said pay application No. 5 and change order No. 2 (the $48,229.68 item) would return to a future agenda after Myers and the town of Porter resolve how the extra work will be paid and the paperwork is updated.
The discussion underscored limits on the county’s ability to reallocate ARPA funds after year‑end actions and highlighted the need for earlier notification to the county staff responsible for encumbering and reporting those funds. The board also requested confirmation from the contractor that outstanding punch-list items tied to the project have been completed prior to final disbursements.
Documents referenced at the meeting show the project originally carried ARPA funding and that Myers Engineering and town staff exchanged emails about covering unexpected costs; county finance staff said those communications arrived after invoices were submitted to the county for payment.
