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Council tables Snider supplemental agreement after debate over extra costs on Gear Avenue Trail
Summary
West Burlington council tabled consideration of a supplemental agreement with Snider & Associates that would add construction-administration, shop-drawing review and extra observation days to the Gear Avenue Trail project amid dispute over responsibility for rework and reported cost overruns.
The West Burlington City Council voted to table consideration of Supplemental Agreement No. 2 with Snider & Associates after extended discussion about additional construction-administration tasks, bridge shop-drawing reviews and extra construction observation tied to the Gear Avenue Trail extension.
Dax, a consultant with Snider & Associates, told the council the supplemental agreement covered four added tasks: construction-administration assistance to RPA staff, additional bridge shop-drawing reviews required for federal-aid compliance, extra on-site construction observation for items that did not require DOT-certified testing, and supplemental topographic survey work plus 21 additional working days needed to complete the project. "We were still involved with assisting them with submitting the documents that they needed for the federal aid and making sure that they knew what they needed to be supplying for the project to remain in compliance," Dax said.
Councilors and staff pressed Snider on why the firm had incurred additional review hours and whether any of those costs should be borne by the prime contractor or subcontractors. Council members questioned whether Snider had underbudgeted expected re-reviews and whether the city could recover costs from the contractor. Staff described constraints of the state bidding system and said the city lacks a practical mechanism to bill the contractor for consultant rework tied to submittals.
The discussion included disagreement over "means and methods"—the contractor’s choice about how to stage work. Staff said the city can observe and point out noncompliant work but cannot dictate the contractor’s means and methods. Councilors also referenced a project cost overrun figure discussed in the meeting (approximately $1.5 million), and staff said the project was not yet finally paid out while a semi-final voucher and some dispute over curb measurement remained outstanding.
After public back-and-forth about responsibility for additional visits, re-submittals, and the appropriate allocation of costs, the council moved to table the supplemental agreement to allow staff and Snider to provide additional documentation and a fuller cost picture at a future meeting.
