The Kenai City Council passed an ordinance that would increase estimated revenues and appropriations in the General and Municipal Roadway Improvement Capital Project Funds and increasing a purchase order to Foster’s Construction for the 2021 Bryson Avenue Bluff Erosion Repair Project. In passing the ordinance, the Administration has authorization to execute Change Order 1 to Foster’s Construction in the amount of $69,397.50 for a new total construction agreement cost of $379,172.50.
Director of Public Works, Scott Curtin told the Kenai City Council:
“The contractor when they put together their pay request, they included all of this piping in as original contract piping and 35 feet of it were actually not included. When I was prepping the change order, my numbers weren’t balancing and it took me sometime to figure it out and I had to go back to the original bid documents and realize that I was missing 35 feet of piping. That’s why my numbers weren’t working out. I’m glad we caught it and we don’t have to go through this again to prep that. As you know, this was an ongoing, a very active, project. During bid phase, the 30 days that were out for bid and getting contract documents prepped and signed, the erosion that was happening out there was continuing to take place. I knew that that was going to be an issue which is why we included such a large contingence sum. I just underestimated what the overall impact of it was going to be. We actually had a drone fly and shoot the grades before the start of work and at the end of work. So, we actually have a very detailed, and I included it in the original ordinance that showed the overlay of the maps. So, we have a very definitive quantity of materials that were placed there.”
The erosion associated with this project was the result of failed storm water conveyance piping. The erosion was ongoing and continued from the time of bid release to construction start which resulted in a larger affected area. Contingency funding was included within the original appropriating Ordinance in anticipation of this need, however actual costs came in well above above projections.
Curtin states that the project has been a success, and is a great relief to both the property owners within the affected area as well as the Public Works Department that has been monitoring the area for over a year.