Woodstock council approves Noonday Creek Trail change order after contractors hit deeper organic soils

The Woodstock City Council on April 14 approved a change order for the Noonday Creek Trail Extension after contractors encountered unexpected organic soils that required deeper excavation and additional work. The council approved a not-to-exceed amendment after staff and members raised questions about quantities and math on the change-order paperwork.

Miss Cash, the city staff member presenting the project, told council the change order was needed because the contractor encountered "muck" (organic material) under planned excavations; inspectors directed crews to reach solid ground, increasing excavation depth and quantities. The change order covers work already completed in wetland 1 and includes a quantity allowance for wetland 2, which staff said appears likely to have a similar soil profile.

Budget and contract mechanics Staff said the change order will exceed the in-house approval threshold and cross the project's 10% contingency threshold, therefore requiring council approval. The design engineer on the project was identified as Heath & Lombok Engineers; staff also noted that a Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) inspector must sign off on requests.

Council questions and corrections Council members asked for a review of the arithmetic and unit quantities on the presented form. Councilman Johnson identified a discrepancy in the agenda packet calculation (a quantity times unit-price total that did not match). Staff agreed to correct the change-order documents; the approved motion conditioned the change order as a not-to-exceed amount with staff verifying the exact computed total prior to final signature.

Outcome and conditions Council approved the change order as a not-to-exceed amount of $520,800 after staff acknowledged a unit-price/quantity math correction would be made; the council recorded the motion as carried 5–0. Staff also said future change orders on the project will come before council for approval, and that GDOT oversight applies to each request.

Technical and oversight notes - Scope: the change order includes additional excavation/grading in wetland 1 (already completed) and anticipates similar conditions in wetland 2; staff characterized the present amount as a not-to-exceed allowance and said actual billings may be lower. - Inspector oversight: a GDOT inspector must sign off on requests for the project, per staff. - Contract timing: staff noted the contractor has been instructed not to resume the affected work until council action and any corrected paperwork are complete; change order may also extend contract time (staff noted an anticipated 90-day extension or comparable time adjustment might be needed).

Council action - Motion to approve a change order for the Noonday Creek Trail Extension as a not-to-exceed amount of $520,800, with staff to verify and correct unit/quantity math prior to final execution. Vote recorded as carry 5–0.

Ending: staff will return corrected paperwork for the city manager’s signature and continue to present any additional change orders for council approval. The council requested accurate quantity math and emphasized that GDOT approval remains required.