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Wastewater expansion nears substantial completion; city reports minor change order and limited contingency use
Summary
City staff reported the wastewater treatment plant expansion is approaching substantial completion. A minor electrical-study change order was recommended to avoid delay, and staff reported limited use of contingency funds though some transcript amounts were unclear.
City staff told the Columbia Falls City Council that the wastewater treatment plant expansion is nearing substantial completion and that the full plant should be operational in the coming weeks.
The City Manager said staff recommended approving a minor change order for an electrical study to avoid a protracted back-and-forth between the contractor and the engineering firm, which could have extended the schedule and raised costs. The manager presented the decision as being "in the best interest of the city" to keep the project on track.
On project finances, the City Manager reported the project has used "less than $100,000 of our contingency, which we had $300,000 a contingency." The transcript later contains unclear phrasing about additional amounts: "In reality, 59,000 of that $90,000 were used" and a figure described as "the cost overrun over the entire project is only $3,035,000 dollars." These later amounts are presented as the manager's reported figures but the recording contains transcription ambiguity; the council did not provide alternate figures during the meeting. Staff characterized overall performance on the project as having kept costs near budget and commended staff, engineering and contractors for progress toward operation.
The change order discussed was described as minor and intended to prevent weeks or months of further delay; the manager said the project has largely stayed within contingency and that substantial completion would be called once the plant is fully operational. No formal council vote on the change order was recorded in the meeting transcript; the item was presented as a staff recommendation and an administrative decision.
The council did not direct further formal actions during the meeting; staff will proceed with the steps necessary to reach substantial completion and will bring financial details to a future meeting or audit briefing.
