The Toquerville City Council voted to remove a potential financial hurdle to restarting construction on the Toquerville Parkway by waiving current daily time charges for JP Excavation once work resumes, approving a major electrical change order and authorizing utility work by Rocky Mountain Power.

Darren (public works staff) told the council the waiver letter acknowledges unanticipated delays on the Parkway and that the city does not intend to pursue daily time charges while the contractor's remaining work is constrained by unforeseen issues. "Once the work picks up again then we will figure out where we need to be with time," Darren said, noting the original contract, three amendments and 13 change orders already address contract days.

Council members approved the waiver by roll call.

The council also approved Change Order No. 13 in the amount of $643,049.50 to fund installation of electrical vaults and conduit from the Cholla Creek area, up through the cemetery and to the area identified as Van's/Nash and Wasatch Builders property. Darren said the work is needed before crews can safely cut the north slope and that the change order must be completed quickly to allow JP Excavation to resume critical operations.

"We can't start cutting the north until we get the power line moved," Darren said during the discussion. Chuck read the change order amount during the meeting and the motion carried on a roll call vote.

Separately, the council approved a Rocky Mountain Power work order, with a not-to-exceed amount of $132,000, to remove existing overhead poles across the Hogs Back, relocate underground equipment and run power through the new conduits. Staff explained a prior credit of about $73,624 reduces the gross work-order figure, and the final city commitment is approximately $131,140; the approved authorization was capped at $132,000.

Staff said the work will place primary and secondary power lines and allow communications providers (TDS and CenturyLink were named) to place conduit while the joint trench is open. Officials said coordination with the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is ongoing and that UDOT has reviewed the change-order figures and supports moving the work forward as a safety improvement, including lowering vaults and relocating power infrastructure to improve clear zones.

All three actions'the time-charge waiver, Change Order No. 13 and the Rocky Mountain Power work order'were approved by motions and roll-call votes; council minutes record the motions as carried.