South Gate council approves roughly $2.1 million sewer rehabilitation contract, authorizes $250,000 change‑order authority

The City of South Gate on Dec. 10 approved a construction contract with Sanken Technologies Inc. to rehabilitate sewer pipeline segments identified in the city’s master plan, the council announced at a special meeting.

City staff said the contract — described in the staff report as roughly $2.1 million for City Project 709‑SWR — must be awarded this month to meet federal ARPA procurement deadlines. “We’ve gotta procure our contracts by December 31 of this month,” said Arturo, who described the procurement timeline and the project locations selected by the deputy city engineer.

The council approved several related actions: authorization for the city manager to administratively approve contract change orders up to $250,000 cumulative to avoid construction delays; approval of Change Order No. 1 that staff said reduces scope and cuts approximately $502,000 in cost based on unit bid pricing; authority for the city manager to approve prepayments of progress payments to comply with state law requiring payment within 30 days of invoice receipt; and environmental next steps (a CEQA Class 1 exemption under Title 14, section 15301, and filing a NEPA categorical exclusion checklist).

Councilmember Maria Avalos urged a lower delegated threshold, arguing that authority above $100,000 should come back to the council for transparency. “If it goes anything above that, it should come to this council for consideration,” she said. City manager Houston and staff responded that municipal code already allows a $100,000 threshold in some circumstances and that the requested authority is intended to give field crews the flexibility to respond when unforeseen issues arise; staff said larger projects commonly require higher change‑order contingencies given current construction costs.

Several councilmembers recused themselves from voting on the item because segments are within proximity of their residences; the record shows the recusal process and a random selection procedure used to determine who could participate when multiple recusals occurred. After no public speakers on the item, the council voted to approve the contract and associated actions; the roll call in the record shows Councilmember Avalos — Yes; Councilmember Rios — Yes; Vice Mayor Davila — Yes; presiding officer announced the motion passed.

The mayor is authorized to execute the agreement in form acceptable to the city attorney, and staff will proceed with CEQA/NEPA filings and contract execution. The staff presentation noted the work will be completed under the city’s capital improvement program and funded in part with ARPA dollars that must be procured by year‑end.