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Council approves $55,614 change order for water treatment project after crews find buried transfer line
Summary
The City of Natchitoches approved Change Order No. 2 to the LeMoyne Company contract for Water Treatment Facility Improvements Phase 1, increasing the contract by $55,614 and extending the completion time by seven days; city engineers said the change avoids hazardous vault work and covers omitted electrical components for upgraded blowers.
The Natchitoches City Council on Sept. 8 authorized Change Order No. 2 to the LeMoyne Company contract for the Water Treatment Facility Improvements Phase 1 project, increasing the contract by $55,614 and extending the timeline from 495 to 502 calendar days.
Project engineer Tim told the council that during excavation crews discovered a 16-inch transfer gravity line located directly above the originally planned tie-in for the 30-inch finished-water main. "They were gonna have to build modified vaults and it was gonna cost us money either way," Tim said. To avoid constructing multiple hazardous vaults—areas that would require personnel to work near chlorine and ammonia and necessitate dewatering—staff decided to move the tie-in to a shallower, safer location used at the city's other plants; Tim said that relocation will cost $27,538.
The second part of the change order covers electrical components associated with increasing blower capacity from 25 horsepower to 40 horsepower for the backwash system; the larger blowers were added based on Veolia's design guidance but the electrical work had not been included in the original bid. Councilwoman Laura Smith Kirkendall read the resolution materials, which show the original contract award (Ordinance 011 of 2024) at $9,270,000 and a revised contract total of $9,289,429 after the change order.
The resolution notes that approval of Change Order No. 2 is contingent on approval by the Office of Community Development Water Sector Program. Mayor Ronnie Williams Jr. and council members characterized the change order as a reasonable adjustment given subsurface conditions: "You don't like change orders, but in the grand scheme of things on a $9,270,000 project, it's not that bad," the mayor said.
What happens next: City staff will submit the change order to the Office of Community Development Water Sector Program for final approval and will report back to council when state sign-off is complete.
Attributions: Tim (project engineer) explained the engineering rationale for the relocation and the $27,538 cost component; Councilwoman Laura Smith Kirkendall read the resolution text and the mayor provided context about project scale and prior change orders.
