Change order for sewer project approved

An unexpected discovery under Broadway Street resulted in the Concordia city commission approving a change order on the sanitary sewer, storm sewer and pavement placement project currently underway downtown.
Ken Johnson, Campbell & Johnson Engineers, P.A., reported to the commission during its regular meeting on Wednesday that on April 21, Orr Wyatt Streetscapes, the general contractor on the project, discovered a 10x10 concrete telephone vault box that had been located by AT&T.
A portion of the vault extends over a segment of the sanitary sewer that is slated for placement.
Campbell & Johnson and Orr Wyatt determined that an engineered system was needed to ensure the safety of the workers beneath the vault. The solution was discussed at length during a progress meeting on the project on April 26.
Because of the location of the vault with respect to the sewer line and nearby manhole, hand digging is necessary to expose the existing sewer line for replacement.
Four large beams are needed to support the concrete vault. The Cloud County Highway Department  agreed to loan some beams to the project.
Additional labor and equipment are also needed to place the shoring and replace this segment of pipe in an unplanned way, resulting in a change order on the project in the amount of $41,800.
Because of the safety factors involved and the fact that the project is already behind schedule due to delays by the private utilities, the city staff authorized the notice to proceed with the shoring solution on April 30 in order to keep the project safely moving forward.
“They are actually doing the work assuming you will approve the change order. We don't have too many choices. We have to put the line in the alignment that goes underneath the manhole or we have to redesign the project for the east block,” Ken Johnson, Campbell & Johnson, said. “We moved ahead with the idea to go under the manhole. They have agreed to tunnel under it. They are doing that currently.”
Because the amount of the change order is beyond the city staff budget authority of $5,000 and because it increases the original contract amount, the city commission had to approve the change order.
The additional $41,800 will be paid in part by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) received by the city for the project. The remaining $19,064.98 will be paid from the city’s community improvement plan funds.
The city received $561,660 in CDBG funds for the project, that has a local match of $471,025, to replace the sanitary sewer line and city storm sewer and regrading the pavement in a three-block area between Sixth and Seventh Street from Lincoln Street to State Street.
The completion date for the project is September 1, 2021.
Also during the meeting, the commission proclaimed May as ALS Awareness Month.
ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that occurs when motor nerve cells in the central nervous system cease functioning and die.
Approximately 5,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year. The life expectancy is two to five years from the time of diagnosis.
Bob Demanett, Concordia, and Darrell Zimmerman, Washington, are currently fighting ALS. In an effort to show support and to bring awareness to the disease, the Demanett family is challenging the community to an ice bucket challenge.
Those participating in the challenge can post their recording on social media and tag Bob Demanett and Darrell Zimmerman and use #nckicebucketchallenge.