Green River council approves $200,000 change order to close out wastewater plant project amid split votes
Summary
The Green River City Council approved change order No. 4 with Bodell Construction for $200,000 to reconcile delays and extended on-site costs for the wastewater treatment plant replacement project; the motion passed 4-2 after debate over contractor claims and oversight.
The Green River City Council voted 4-2 to approve change order No. 4 with Bodell Construction, authorizing $200,000 to reconcile contractor claims and costs tied to extended on-site time during the wastewater treatment plant replacement project.
Public works director Mark Westisco told the council the project is complete and the change order is part of a final reconciliation after industry-wide delays in major electrical equipment. He said the city negotiated with the contractor to minimize impacts, and that the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality had preferred a negotiated resolution that could be carried under the project loan terms. "The overall change-order-related amount on the project is about $768,000, which ends up being 1.5% of the total original project cost," Westisco said, and the current item before council would address a portion of that total.
Council debate focused on whether the added costs reflected contractor supply-chain impacts or items the city had asked the contractor to perform. One council member said the extra charges should have been absorbed in the original contract and announced a no vote: "I—m not gonna vote for the change order," the councilor said, citing constituent concerns about how public money is spent. Another councilor who opposed the motion similarly cited worries that minor field work orders and administrative adjustments should have been part of the bid price.
Supporters of the motion argued the negotiated settlement resolved outstanding claims and that several enhancements (a redundant screen and an upgraded uninterruptible power supply) were added to improve long-term resiliency. Westisco described the additional items and explained that some field work orders were minor adjustments to drawings or on-site conditions and that temporary on-site costs arose from a longer presence at the jobsite.
The motion to approve change order No. 4 for $200,000 passed 4-2. Council members requested follow-up documentation on the reconciliation figures and the list of field work orders.
Next steps: staff will finalize the negotiated settlement with the contractor under the loan terms and provide the council with the reconciliation documentation and the itemized field work order list.
