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Utility board approves on‑call contracts, amendments and change orders, software renewal and meter variance
Summary
At its July 9 meeting the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility Board approved multiple on‑call engineering agreements (including Wessler and Clark Dietz), an amendment to the Burkhart Crossing design, several construction change orders (one increase, one large decrease), a CityWorks renewal, a variance for Mountain Glacier and staff training with SkillPath.
The Evansville City Water and Sewer Utility Board on July 9 approved a package of agreements, amendments and change orders intended to support operations and near‑term construction.
Staff recommended a $20,000 on‑call services agreement with Wessler Engineering, Inc. for SCADA/control‑system support and a separate $9,000 contract for a SCADA health evaluation at the city’s treatment plants and lift stations. “We don’t currently have the utility doesn’t currently have a specialized SCADA personnel on staff,” Logan said when describing the need for an on‑call agreement to provide specialized support as issues arise. The board approved both Wessler agreements.
The board also approved a $50,000 on‑call engineering and operations support agreement with Clark Dietz, Inc.; staff said Clark Dietz has an existing working knowledge of the city’s plants and can provide project management, design and training via task orders.
The board approved Amendment No. 1 to the professional services agreement with Burgess & Niple for the Burkhart Crossing lift station and force main improvements (U1206), increasing the design contract by $25,941. Mitch Ferguson told the board staff split the project into two phases after a 90% cost estimate and described phase 1 as replacing a 6‑inch force main with an 8‑inch main to increase capacity so a nearby apartment developer can continue construction.
A change order to Blankenberger Brothers for the Franklin Street manhole replacement project (U1185) increased that contract by $182,345.63 (about a 5.6% increase) to cover five items found during excavation, including an inactive 30‑inch blind connection, additional bypass and dewatering (about 11 extra days), an automatic flushing device to improve water quality and downtime costs related to a gas‑main relocation; the work also added 38 calendar days to the schedule. “That was approximately $78,000 worth of this change order,” Ferguson said while detailing downtime costs tied to a delayed gas‑main relocation.
Separately, staff presented Change Order No. 5 for the Toyota/Trinity stormwater project (U1045) that decreases the Blankenberger contract by $629,006.89. Ryan Maher said staff terminated two construction blocks after constructability reviews revealed dense utility congestion in the Sycamore Street corridor — including legacy AT&T facilities — that made installation infeasible without high risk. The change order also increases contract time by 60 days to document delays; staff said the project is physically substantially complete and they expect additional downward adjustments in the final accounting.
The board approved a CityWorks license renewal for $91,957.50 for one year; staff said CityWorks is the utility’s main work‑order and asset management system. The board also approved a frontage variance to Mountain Glacier to allow an additional 2‑inch meter (the company retains its existing 2‑inch meter and will add a second 2‑inch connection), and approved a SkillPath training agreement for customer‑service and data‑processing training at $10,000.
The board had no public comment and adjourned; no contract awards for the South Evergreen Acres bid opening were made at this meeting.
Votes at a glance
• Wessler Engineering — on‑call SCADA support: $20,000 — approved. • Wessler Engineering — SCADA system evaluation: $9,000 — approved. • Clark Dietz, Inc. — on‑call engineering and operations support: $50,000 — approved. • Burgess & Niple — Amendment No. 1 (Burkhart Crossing, U1206): +$25,941 — approved. • Blankenberger Brothers — Change Order No. 1 (Franklin Street manhole, U1185): +$182,345.63, +38 days — approved. • Blankenberger — Change Order No. 5 (Toyota/Trinity stormwater, U1045): −$629,006.89, +60 days — approved. • CityWorks — license renewal: $91,957.50 (one year) — approved. • Mountain Glacier — meter variance (additional 2‑inch meter, frontage exception) — approved. • SkillPath — customer service/data processing training: $10,000 — approved.
What’s next: staff will proceed with task orders and project bidding as permitted under the approved on‑call agreements, return final change‑order accounting when available, and bring any recommended construction contract awards (including the South Evergreen Acres project) back to the board for formal approval.
