Caribou council denies $43,000 library change order, asks staff for timeline

The Caribou City Council voted June 15 to deny authorization of a $43,000 change order submitted by Haley Ward for additional engineering services on the library project, concluding the work was performed without prior authorization and without adequate committee notice.

Councilors said the charge appeared to have been initiated by the contractor and submitted after the work was completed; multiple members said the library committee and project manager were not consulted before the work was performed. One councilor framed the issue this way: "They waited until the window was closed and then submitted it," and moved to deny the authorization for the change order dated May 21, 2026, on project number 10963.008. The motion passed on a council roll call.

Manager Penny Thompson told the council Peter (the library director) left a supporting letter on the item but was not present to speak; council members asked Thompson to prepare a one-page chronology showing the baseline contract and the order and timing of subsequent change orders. Councilors said they want a clear audit trail before approving any additional payments related to the project.

Why it matters: The decision rejects an extra $43,000 payment the contractor sought and raises questions about contract oversight and communication on a publicly funded construction project. Council directed staff to produce documentation so the council can reconsider any future requests with complete context.

What’s next: Manager Thompson will compile the baseline contract, the timeline of change orders and related memos and present them to the council for review; if additional action is required the council will take it at a future meeting.