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Council approves engineering-contract credit, clears county invoices amid debate over who pays
Summary
The council approved a contract amendment crediting $30,027.58 to an HR Green sewer contract and voted to submit two invoices to Johnson County, while deferring a $121,056.54 payment after a procedural review found it required a formal resolution.
A Swisher Commissioner Council meeting on Nov. 25 approved Resolution 75-2024 to amend HR Green’s engineering contract for the sanitary sewer and lift-station project, reducing the overall contract by $30,027.58 to account for disputed engineering fees the county declined to reimburse.
Staff member (S5) said the amendment “drops it by $30,027.58” and described the change as a credit to make the city whole for engineering fees the county would not pay. Council then took up multiple invoices from the Johnson County Secondary Roads Department related to construction and annexation work.
Council members and staff walked through gross and net figures tied to the road and annexation work; one council member (S6) asked whether the net cost to the town was about $141,000, and staff agreed that after credits and reimbursements the net hit to the city fund would be in that range. Staff (S5) explained some payments were withheld previously as a retainage and that prior councils had approved the underlying pay requests as the project progressed.
On separate motions the council approved submitting an invoice to Johnson County for $245,000 and approved payment items tied to smaller reimbursements. However, when the council reached a $121,056.54 reimbursement connected to properties proposed for annexation (Deegan/Sheely), members amended the motion to make approval contingent on successful passage of the annexation items. Later, the clerk and council recognized that any spending in excess of $100,000 for a public improvement requires a formal resolution; because item 9 should have been processed as a resolution, the council left no final action on that invoice and agreed to address it at a subsequent meeting with the proper resolution.
Votes recorded on the related measures included unanimous roll calls for the HR Green amendment and the $245,000 invoice submission by the members present at the time. The council’s discussion noted the town’s bond/TIF fund balance and the timing of county reimbursements as material to the town’s cash flow.
The council did not adopt any new policy changing how reimbursements are pursued; rather, staff said this agenda item set out to “clean this up” and reconcile prior retainage, county invoicing and credits.
The council moved on to annexation items and later approved a notice to fill a mayoral vacancy; it also adjourned the meeting by voice vote.
