Council approves Sunrise Park change orders; city says savings offset most added costs

The Athens City Council on Sept. 8 approved three change orders affecting the Sunrise Park construction project after a project update from the city’s project manager.

Council approved a deductive change order for bid package 4 (site electrical work) to Hennessy Construction LLC in the amount of negative $57,415, a change order for bid package 3 (general work) to EMW Construction in the amount of $7,590, and a change order for bid package 2 (civil and utilities) to Grayson Carter & Son Contracting Inc. in the amount of $68,590. All three measures passed on roll call votes (each 5‑0).

Project management staff explained the three items together: the project has encountered unsuitable creek‑bed soils that require engineered compacted fill and undercutting, and the city engaged Morrell Engineering to quantify cubic yards of unsuitable subgrade before completing that work. That soil remediation is the driver of additional cost in the civil contract.

At the same time, staff said they identified a way to avoid an expensive bored crossing under a creek for the primary electrical feed. Instead of boring through rock and disturbing the creek, staff worked with the design team and the electric department to use an existing nearby riser pole and add one pole to route the primary electrical aerially. That alternative produced the $57,415 deductive change to the Hennessy contract, which staff said offsets much of the soil work cost. City documents presented at the meeting calculated a net increase across the three change orders of about $18,765 compared with previously approved amounts.

The project manager provided context for the overall contract: the original single‑prime bid in 2024 had a higher total; after moving to a multi‑prime approach the city reported savings of $2,770,135.26. For the immediate work, staff said Grayson Carter and Son will proceed with compacted fill work and the contractor is also active on the west side of the creek; sidewalks and plantings are being prioritized to establish root beds before cold weather.

Council members asked questions about causes of the changes. Staff said unforeseen bedrock under the creek (not included in contract bid documents) and the splash pad contractor’s need for an additional concrete pit (which was not included in that contractor’s shop drawings) produced the two additive change orders; the deductive change arose from switching the electrical route. Staff said they do not anticipate further changes for the Hennessey scope once the aerial solution is adopted.

All three change orders were approved after motions to suspend the rules and roll‑call votes.