An emergency session was called on Tuesday to resolve the matter.
Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3.
(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - Lawrenceburg Board of Works was called into emergency session on Tuesday.
The meeting was called during a work session on Monday night regarding a change order presented by Probst Excavating, based on a project at 135 Short Street.
The City of Lawrenceburg acquired the property for $550,000 near the end of 2022. Plans for the site include an open-air type of structure that matches the architecture of the current Civic Park stage. The structure would be used for the skating rink in the winter, the Farmers Market, outdoor art shows, and other events, in addition to additional restrooms.
When the property was purchased, the budget was approved for the total project, not just the demolition. Specifications included equipment (owned and rented), labor, compaction, transportation, and infill placement. However, the original budget did not include purchasing the fill itself.
The bid package, which was published with an invitation to bid, originally estimated that 1,273 cubic tons of fill would be needed. The bid was awarded to Probst Excavating for $51,675. That bid included a breakdown of the parts mentioned before as lump sums.
After the project began and the ground was dug out it became clear from Probst Excavating and the City that the estimate for the fill had been "grossly" low, about two-thirds.
The final amount of fill turned out to be 3,487 cubic tons
When error was discovered, a decision was made by the City and Probst Excavating to continue with the project. Two specific determinations were made: 1) there was an emergency that existed (when ground was dugout it exposed to the northside of the property line the ground beneath the sidewalk, street and railroad tracks) and 2) the cause for the additional cost (change order) was caused by circumstances that were not reasonably foreseen.
As the project continued, another mishap occurred. The original provider of the fill only had 1,300 cubic tons available. The City was paying per cubic ton for the original cubic tons. However, City Engineer Mario Todd negotiated $11.90 per cubic ton for additional fill.
The project was completed and Probst's change order was presented reflecting additional work and costs of labor.
Board of Works voted to send the change order to City Council, which then approved the change order. According to City Attorney Del Weldon, the additional billing increased the project total to $76,290.45.
"On this particular project, everybody bid on the same set of specs," said Mayor Kelly Mollaun. "Nobody anticipated the increase. I want to thank Board of Works and Council for not just rubber stamping something before it was researched. It would have been very easy to go ahead and approve that claim, but by doing the research, we did it the right way. Making sure that Council had the opportunity to research emergency situation because it will come up again."
There is a chance new construction at the Short Street property will not take place until next year.
View the Board of Works/Council meeting here.
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