Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Water topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves revised change order for water lines supporting Heath Well No. 1
Summary
After denying a prior change order, the council approved a revised Hill & Wilkinson change order to install water lines for the City of Heath Well No. 1 project, with staff saying the well is expected to begin producing irrigation water this fall and be potable by early next year.
The Heath City Council on May 13 approved a revised change order with contractor Hill & Wilkinson to install new water lines supporting the City’s Well No. 1 project, after voting to deny an earlier higher-priced change order.
The council first voted to deny a previously proposed change order for $209,601.30. Staff then presented a revised change order for $111,000 and $71.51 (amount recorded in the meeting packet and read into the record), describing a narrowed scope and cost savings after engineering and station identification adjustments. Council approved the revised change order on a unanimous voice vote.
Why it matters: the water-line installation is a critical path item for the well project and for the adjacent park construction. Public Works Director Brian Creed said the lines are needed to allow other contractors (storm-line installers) to proceed without delay. Installing the lines now reduces contractor downtime and associated charges.
Details from staff and council exchange
- Scope: The change order covers both the lines that will feed an irrigation pond within the park and the lines that will route potable-treated well water to a small treatment facility and into a water tower. Creed described the layout: the well will fill a pond on one end for irrigation while other lines run to the tower location where a small treatment facility will be installed before pumping to the tower.
- Production estimates and schedule: Creed said the well’s anticipated raw output is “anywhere from 750,000 gallons a day to a million gallons a day” when fully exercised. Staff told council the original target for water coming out of the well was September 1, but they now expect September 15–20 for raw production; potable use (after treatment and testing, including mineral-content analysis) could be possible by early March of the following year.
- Delay/impact: Councilman Dodson asked how many days were lost while the item moved through review; staff estimated about 20 days lost. Creed said staff had identified areas to reduce haul-off and adjust station identifications that lowered the price from the earlier figure.
- Budget/funding: Creed said the well project is externally funded and that the city remains within overall project contingency margins despite adjustments.
What council decided
- Motion to deny the earlier $209,601.30 change order — approved unanimously.
- Motion to approve the revised Hill & Wilkinson change order for $111,000 and $71.51 to install new water lines supporting Well No. 1 — approved unanimously.
Ending
Staff committed to provide council additional schedule detail (a Gantt chart or milestone schedule) and a clarification of lost days and part-completion dates; council members requested follow-up on activation and milestone dates. The council recorded the approvals as unanimous voice votes.
