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Council approves construction contract changes and memoranda to ease coordination on major bond projects
Summary
The council approved contract amendments and a memorandum of understanding with the San Antonio Water System to improve coordination on bond-funded street and utility projects; members said better interagency coordination should reduce construction delays and business impacts.
The San Antonio City Council approved a set of construction contract amendments and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) intended to improve coordination on major bond-funded street and utility projects.
Key approvals recorded in the meeting included amendments to design and construction contracts related to the San Adam Street/César Chávez project and a coordination MOU between the city and SAWS. Council discussion focused on past construction coordination problems — long closures, redesigns caused by undocumented utilities, and disruptions to businesses — and on new procedures to reduce those impacts.
City and SAWS staff described the MOU as a broader, more detailed agreement than prior memoranda: it includes joint project categorization for high-risk/high-value work, coordinated subsurface information sharing, contracting and dispute-resolution steps intended to avoid protracted delays, and a commitment that city and SAWS will sign construction contracts when they involve shared work so both parties are contractually accountable.
Contract amendments detailed in the transcript included a design increase not to exceed $507,020 (Moore & Acofano Gold Spence Inc.) and construction change orders with Sun Construction (design and construction adjustments, reimbursement and change-order authorization). Funding for those modifications was cited as coming from general obligation bond funds, with some reimbursement to the city specified from CPS Energy where applicable.
Councilmembers and staff emphasized that improved communication among utilities, contractors and city departments should reduce the number of stop-work events, redundant excavations and schedule slippage; several members called the MOU a first step and asked for regular status reports on high-risk corridors.
Action: The council approved the contract amendments and the SAWS coordination MOU (agenda item 24 and item 16 as recorded). Staff said the MOU is intended to speed project timelines and reduce the community disruption that has accompanied past bond projects.
