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Lancaster council authorizes CDBG change order to address Taylor Street drainage
Summary
The Lancaster City Council approved a change order request to the CDBG-funded Taylor Street drainage project to add a catch basin and an 18-inch diverter pipe after staff reported unexpected runoff and erosion. If the state denies the CDBG change request, the city said it will close out the CDBG project and complete the work as a city capital project.
The Lancaster City Council voted to authorize a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) change order for the Taylor Street drainage project after staff described new erosion and ponding issues that were not fully anticipated in the original design.
Staff described the revision as the installation of an additional catch basin with an 18-inch diverter pipe "to try to catch a lot more of that water coming down to control the part where it always ponds," a staff member said during the work session. Engineers and construction managers have been monitoring the site, staff said, after residents and council members reported concentrated flow down Taylor Street that has caused erosion.
Council members pressed staff about whether engineers had anticipated the volume of runoff. "I can't answer that," a staff member said, adding that recent observations showed more flow down Taylor Street than expected. Another council member noted engineers had focused on east–west stream flow and "they didn't expect that much coming down Taylor." Staff said they will continue monitoring the project and work with engineers to limit further erosion.
Because the project is part of a CDBG grant, staff said the city will submit the change order to the state for approval. "If the state doesn't approve it, the project will be closed out, then we will do it ourselves," a council member said. Staff added that engineering had been budgeted at $120,000 and about $94,000 had been used so far, and estimated an additional $19,500 would be needed for the change order; that amount would be covered from available project funds or by a later city budget amendment if the grant route is not approved.
The council made a motion to authorize the city to request the CDBG change order; the clerk recorded a roll-call vote and the motion passed. Staff said the next step is to await the state's review of the request; if the state denies the change order the city will bring a budget amendment to fund the work as a capital project and coordinate with the state Department of Transportation on allowable scope and timing.
The approval follows staff warnings that no change can prevent every extreme storm event but that the revision should reduce frequent ponding and localized erosion. Council members asked staff to keep residents informed as the state review proceeds.
