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Police station project hit by brownfield findings and contractor delays; CMAR says change order needed but project remains under budget cap
Summary
City and contractor officials told council Nov. 12 that brownfield findings, environmental remediation and a sequence of contractual delays and subcontractor issues extended the police station schedule and produced a change‑order package.
City staff and the project construction manager updated council Nov. 12 on delay‑related change‑order work at the new police station site and described the sequence of events that extended the schedule and increased costs.
Ron Allen of NDC Construction (the CMAR) told council that early test excavations and environmental sampling revealed contamination that led to a brownfield designation and additional Phase I/II work, including special handling and off‑site disposal of some soils. That environmental work — together with a separate contractual dispute with the architect that interrupted submittals and approvals for several months, and a subcontractor who demobilized unexpectedly — produced a series of schedule interruptions, Allen said.
Allen described a roughly 3½‑month brownfield testing/handling period followed by another 3½‑month interval where architect‑contractor disputes stalled approvals and submittal responses; those two intervals together accounted for the bulk of the delay. He said NDC and city staff took steps to keep portions of the project moving — building the parking garage and doing work where possible — rather than stop the entire project.
The CMAR said the change order package includes three components: reductions to the contract price related to direct owner purchases (which lower sales tax and are a net savings), delay‑related general‑conditions costs and a modest set of subcontractor delay claims largely tied to material price escalation. Allen said the team had reduced potential delay claims to a manageable level and that the contractor expects to finish the remaining scope on an accelerated schedule now that utility relocations and remediation work are complete.
City staff and the CMAR reiterated that while the change order raises total project costs, the program remains within the previously discussed overall budget envelope (staff said the total remains under the program’s $35 million target), and that they expect to complete the facility within the coming year barring new interruptions.
Council treated the briefing as information; staff said a formal change‑order request and supporting documentation will be presented for council approval as required by contract.
