Cody approves $335,402 change order and time extension for septage receiving facility

The Cody City Council on Tuesday approved Change Order No. 1 for the city’s septage receiving facility, adding $335,402 to the project contract to cover a finalized SCADA and control-system scope and extending the project’s completion timeline.

Philip Bowman, the city staff member who presented the item, told the council that earlier work authorizations had left the control-system scope undefined. "The final number has now been defined and come in at $335,402," Bowman said, adding that work authorization No. 2 — approved Feb. 4, 2025 — set the guaranteed maximum price for construction at $4,134,715 excluding the controls package. He said the city’s wastewater enterprise fund has unassigned reserves sufficient to cover the city’s approximately $170,000 share, and that the council will need to approve a future budget amendment to move those funds into the project.

Bowman also said Park County officials had agreed to split the cost roughly 50/50 and had authorized up to $310,000 of county funds to cover contingencies if needed. "They actually authorized spending up to 310,000 of additional county funds if necessary," Bowman said. He described the split as the result of meetings between city and county staff and said that county commissioners had already authorized the additional funds at a recent meeting.

The approved change order adds the controls scope into the contractor’s contract and also adjusts the project schedule to reflect lead times for specialized cabinets and equipment. Bowman presented updated milestones that move the project’s substantial completion to June 5 (date given in meeting record) and final completion to early July (date given in the record as July 2); he explained the extension is driven by equipment manufacturing and delivery timelines. He cautioned that contingency use could still be required for weather delays or unforeseen conditions.

Councilmembers questioned whether additional change orders were anticipated. Bowman said he did not expect further sums beyond contingency use and discussed typical contingency scenarios such as weather-related site tenting. Several councilmembers voiced general concern about frequent change orders but acknowledged Bowman’s explanation that the controls scope simply had not been final at the earlier work-authorization stage.

Councilmember Stedner moved to approve the change order; Councilmember Lang seconded and the motion carried on a voice vote. The council’s approval includes direction that staff return with any required budget amendment and with contract documentation reflecting the additional scope.

The staff presentation thanked the city’s consultant team and contractor for their work on the project. The council’s action advances procurement and construction work on the septage receiving facility, with the city and Park County sharing the near-term equipment cost subject to the forthcoming budget amendment.