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Board approves 5% contingency after $133,000 in change orders on River Road transmission main
Summary
Staff reported three unforeseen underground construction issues on the River Road transmission main — unmarked steel casing tap, relocated sewer force main bury depth and an unmarked Verizon conduit — totaling about $133,000 on a $10 million contract; the board gave consensus to a 5% contingency (~$550,000) from cash reserves.
Prince George County utilities staff told the board that contractor change orders on the River Road transmission main project have produced a request of roughly $133,000 on a $10 million contract — about 1.2% — and asked for board consensus to establish a 5% contingency to cover additional, near‑term change orders.
Utilities staff described three issues found in the ground that required extra work: cutting a 30‑inch steel casing to tap an existing water line (about $72,000), additional depth and excavation because a sewer force main location was not where the drawings indicated (about $32,000), and an unmarked Verizon conduit struck during jacking across Scotland Road that required Verizon repairs (about $30,000). "This is about a 1.2% change order on a $10,000,000 project," staff said.
Because the contract contained no contingency, staff requested consensus to appropriate a contingency of about 5% of the contract amount (roughly $550,000) from cash reserves to cover the current change order and potential near‑term additional items; any future change orders would still be brought to the board for review. The board gave consensus on the 5% contingency and directed staff to return with the formal appropriation at a future meeting.
Staff emphasized that any change orders above thresholds would be reported and would appear on the board's agenda for action as required.
