Councilman wants a change in change order requests

Oct. 05--Councilman Brian Reagan on Tuesday put in a change order request of his own.

He wants to change how construction project change order requests come to council for approval. More specifically, he wants a breakdown of a change order's materials and labor costs, and wants to know is the contractor and architect are charging additional fees.

What seemed a routine a change order request presented Tuesday evening turned into a lengthy policy and procedure discussion.

"This was an issue of the council before I came on," Reagan said.

The councilman voiced frustration with costs that are added on to construction projects after they have been bid, the costs approved and the contracts awarded.

Tuesday's request was for installation of an exhaust fan and five thermostats at City Gym, one of the city buildings undergoing roof replacements under the general contractor Crawford Roofing, a $3 million overall project being paid for largely with insurance funds because the roofs were damaged during a 2013 hailstorm.

However, this change order request -- the fifth one to date for the project -- for $7,995 would come out of the city's parks and recreation budget -- one just approved last week for the new fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

A change order comes about when during a construction or renovation project, an item or items not included in the bid and contract are found and approval for the additional material, labor and other costs must be approved by the governing board.

City Finance Director John Moran told council the gymnasium items were outside the original project's scope -- which was to replace the roofs. Once work began, it was determined that the fan was non-operational, and the thermostats were discovered 30 feet in the air.

Moran said it made sense, and would be loess costly, to go ahead and replace those items now while work is underway.

Reagan questioned why the fan was not previously tested and included in the original bid.

"These are actually things that need to be done," Moran said. "We vetted this to make sure it was necessary."

Reagan suggested that Mineral Wells too lenient with change orders, saying he feel companies are able to "low ball" their bid, then come back to the city with multiple change orders that ultimately increase the project's price, while adding on architect and contractor fees.

Moran said he believed the item brought to council Tuesday included the cost of materials and labor, but could not say for sure since there was no cost breakdown provided.

"I will get that for you," Moran told Reagan.

Councilman Clif Wright voiced agreement with Reagan on the issue.

"Everybody else gets a cut and the city will pay," said Reagan of the practice. "It's insane to me."

Asked for legal input, City Attorney George Gault gave his personal opinion that these are items that whether they were in the original bid or not, they are needed repairs and replacements, and city would still have to pay for them.

"You would have had to approve them anyway," Gault said.

Mayor Mike Allen said while the new fans and thermostats are costs the city will bear, he said they will pay for themselves through better energy use efficiencies at the gym.

Wright moved to approve the request, with Underwood seconding. They along with Allen voted in favor, while Reagan opposed approval. Council members John Upham and Wayne Johnson were absent.

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