River Heights council questions $6,280 Allied change order for 800 South sewer project

River Heights City Council members discussed an Allied Underground Technology change proposal related to the nearly completed 750–800 South sewer extension, including a $6,280 equipment-delay charge that city staff said resulted from a multi‑day delay securing a private easement.

The change request followed a lapse between the contractor mobilizing equipment and the final signing of a roughly 350‑foot easement needed to extend the sewer line from 800 South toward several homes. Craig Rasmussen, River Heights city engineer, told the council Allied submitted four separate change proposals; the largest (proposal #4) seeks $6,280 primarily to cover hourly equipment costs while the contractor was idled during the delay.

Rasmussen said the contract work itself is complete and that most of the change requests are documented. "They submitted a change proposal for $62.80, $6,280. That was for equipment, primarily for 2 trackhoe excavators and [equipment] wasn't running," Rasmussen said, explaining the charge came from the contractor's equipment rates and the number of hours billed during the interval when the easement was not yet signed.

Rasmussen and other staff described the timeline: the project was bid in September, a contractor (Allied Underground Technology) was awarded the job, and the city authorized the crew to start limited work in the public right-of-way while staff continued to pursue the private easement. When the easement signing slipped by several scheduled dates, the contractor demobilized but later had limited work windows and then left for another project, prompting Allied's request for delay-related costs.

Council members said proposals 1–3 (smaller, documented charges) appeared reasonable based on receipts and industry rates; they raised questions about paying proposal #4 in full because the delay resulted from the easement-signing process and other scheduling ambiguities. Council discussion emphasized negotiation rather than immediate rejection: several members said it would be appropriate to pay the clearly documented items and hold the $6,280 request while staff pursues additional contractor invoices and outside opinions.

Mayor Blake and public works director Clayton Nelson indicated staff would pursue negotiation and obtain comparative opinions from other construction firms. Nelson told the council he would contact Allied's project representative to request the contractor remove or separate proposal #4 from the master invoice so the city could approve payment for the other, smaller invoices while proposal #4 remains under discussion.

The council did not formally vote to accept or reject the contractual charge during the meeting. Instead, the council directed staff to: (1) request that Allied remove proposal #4 from the current pay application, (2) approve payment of the smaller, documented change requests, and (3) seek one or more independent contractor opinions and negotiate the contested $6,280 charge, then report back to the council at the next meeting.

City staff and the council noted warranty and settlement issues remain under the one‑year warranty period and that Allied will be required to return for any trench-settlement repairs identified later this summer.

The council asked the engineer and public works director to return with a memo on negotiations and to place the contested item on the next agenda if needed.