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Council approves contract contingency increase after public questions about power supply and cost
Summary
Council approved staff’s recommendation to increase contingency for a contract (item 1B) following a remote speaker’s concerns about an unclarified power supply upgrade and a contingency level that the speaker said approached 28–29%. Staff said the change related to switching to hydro‑excavation because of underground utilities; council voted 7–0.
Sunnyvale City Council approved an amendment to a contract (agenda item 1B) to increase contingency after a remote public speaker raised concerns about the size of the contingency and whether a necessary power supply upgrade had already been installed.
A remote commenter identified as ASA J questioned a change order and said the contingency would rise ‘‘somewhere around 28–29%’’ and asked whether the 480‑volt feed cited in earlier documents had actually been installed. City staff responded that the contingency increase was tied to an unanticipated field change: trenching operations were converted to hydro‑excavation to manage complex underground utilities, which altered project cost estimates.
Council member Cell moved to accept staff’s recommendation and the council adopted the motion by voice/roll call (7–0). Staff recorded the reason for the contingency increase as an operational change in excavation approach and said they would provide additional details on power‑supply questions when available.
Why it matters: Contract contingency increases can raise procurement and oversight questions because they change the financial exposure on a project. Members of the public asked for clarification about whether prior statements (that power capacity was adequate) matched the current procurement and installation status.
Next steps: City staff said they would follow up with a clarification on the electrical service question and will include the contingency increase in the published contract record.
