Council approves Bal Street change order but excludes city payment for cold‑weather protection

The Maxwell City Council approved Change Order No. 2 for the Bal Street project while excluding payment for cold‑weather protection for concrete work.

The change order covers an additional 6‑inch water main, service connections, curb stops, and a new fire hydrant, plus contract-specified “cold‑weather protection” for Portland cement concrete (PCC). City staff told the council that cold‑weather protection is a contract‑specified measure (listed as a baseline $2.50 per square yard in the specifications) required when concrete is placed in cold conditions; higher costs apply if additional blankets or layers are needed.

Council members questioned whether the city should pay the protection costs when the contractor started late on the project. Staff explained that the contractor’s late start and subsequent added working days were documented in a working‑day report and that the project had accumulated additional days tied to Change Order No. 1 (exploratory digging). Staff said the nine working days added for earlier change work are reasonable given the extra effort required and noted that liquidated damages can apply if days exceed the contract’s working‑day total, but that liquidated damages are typically negotiated into the final pay application.

To keep the work moving, staff recommended coordinating on cold‑weather protection and sharing documentation (weekly working‑day reports and inspection costs) for negotiation with the contractor. Council members split over whether the city should pay the incremental protection costs now or require the contractor to cover them; one member said the contractor “should just go ahead and eat it themselves” because of the late start, while others said paying the cost now could allow sidewalks and driveways to be finished before winter.

A majority of council members voted to approve Change Order No. 2 while excluding payment for the cold‑weather protection line item; the vote was announced as carried at the meeting. The council directed staff to provide the working‑day reports, inspection timesheets and updated cost reconciliations to support negotiations with the contractor and to document any liquidated damage claim to include in the final pay application.

What happens next: Staff will share weekly working‑day reports and estimated added inspection costs with the council. Any recovery of cold‑weather protection or inspection costs will be pursued during final pay negotiations with the contractor.