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El Campo council debates $153,000 change order for grant-funded water-plant generators
Summary
Council and staff discussed an approximately $153,000 change-order request (roughly 18%) on a grant-funded HMGP project for three water-plant generators. Staff and the city's engineer said delays and submittal issues have increased material costs; council directed staff to seek grant-agency guidance and return with options.
City staff and the city engineer briefed the El Campo City Council on an ongoing Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) project to install three backup generators for city water plants and the contractor's request for a roughly 18% change order — about $153,000 — to cover increased material costs and design clarifications.
The engineer, William Huebner (speaker 4), said communications and submittal reviews with the contractor stretched far longer than expected and that "this process has taken far longer than it should." A contractor representative (speaker 5) described the project timeline, saying the job was bid in 2025, awarded in October 2025 and that the executed contract was delayed until December; the speaker estimated about "$153,000 just in cost alone" tied to increases.
City staff (speaker 13) noted the project is grant-funded under HMGP, that the grant includes a required local match (staff said the grant pays 90% and the city pays 10%) and that change orders to grant-funded projects can be tightly scrutinized by the grant agency. Council members asked whether the revised pricing would keep the contractor as the low bidder; staff replied the contractor would remain the low bidder even after the change order.
Councilors discussed options including seeking the grant agency's approval of the change order, authorizing a contingent agreement between the city and contractor to share risk, or rebidding if the change order cannot be approved. Several council members expressed reluctance to assume full financial responsibility without grant-agency sign-off and asked staff to pursue an expedited determination. Staff said they would attempt to obtain a response from the grant agency and return the matter for possible formal action at the May 25 meeting.
No formal council action was taken during the meeting; council gave staff direction to pursue grant-agency review and to return with options for approval or budget adjustments.
