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Council approves credit to sewer engineering contract after county declines reimbursement
Summary
The Swisher council approved Resolution 75-2024 to amend the HR Green engineering contract for the sanitary sewer project, applying a $3,275 credit to cover disputed engineering fees the county refused to reimburse; council also reviewed and approved several Johnson County invoices and related reimbursements tied to road and annexation work.
The Swisher council voted to approve Resolution 75-2024, authorizing Amendment No. 4 to the HR Green engineering contract for the sanitary sewer improvement project and applying a $3,275 credit to the contract after Johnson County declined to reimburse the city for certain inspection hours from 2019–2020.
Staff explained that the city will apply the credit to make the city whole for engineering fees the county refused to repay. "What we're doing is making you guys whole," a staff member summarized during the discussion, describing the $3,275 reduction to the total contract amount as a way to resolve disputed engineering fees without pursuing court action.
Councilors then reviewed several invoices from Johnson County's Secondary Roads Department tied to the project and related work, including construction reimbursements and charges connected to annexation-related repairs. Staff told the council that prior payments had been approved during the project, but former staff member Tanya had withheld certain amounts as a form of retainage while the county's engineering fees were in dispute. Those withholdings created a reconciliation now reflected in the packet; staff estimated the net short-term cost to the city at about $141,000 after accounting for reimbursements the county will issue for most construction engineering costs.
Council members asked for clarification on timing and sources of reimbursement; staff said the county typically seeks to clean its books by year-end but did not guarantee a firm reimbursement schedule. The council approved the contract amendment and the recommended invoice payments and submissions by roll-call votes.
The resolution and invoice approvals are meant to clear outstanding accounting from several years of project billings and allow the sanitary sewer project's construction accounts to be finalized. The council recorded affirmative roll-call votes on the measures and moved on to subsequent agenda items.
