Cloverdale questions sewer project
In a special session recently, the Cloverdale Town Council and Planning Commission met to discuss specific cost overruns on the wastewater treatment plant and a future PUD zoning ordinance.
The council heard explanations from representatives from Bowen Engineering regarding two change orders, totaling $15,700. Bowen discussed the specifics of change orders PCO37, which specified additional pipe material for drain lines, and PCO38, which will require the relocation of a lift pump.
Triad Associates, which oversaw the treatment facility project, utilized as-built specifications from the 1970s to lay out particular locations applicable to the construction of the new treatment facility.
Council members questioned who was responsible for warranting the specifications, as inaccuracies in the as-built drawings prompted both change orders.
Triad did not send a representative to the meeting, therefore a determination could not be immediately made.
Another sticking point with regard to the cost overruns is the existence, or lack thereof, of a contingency fund for the project, typically ranging from 5 to 6 percent of the overall budget, which Town Attorney Alan Yackey offered was standard practice in a construction project of any significance.
It was determined, through Yackey's counsel, that the council would need to make a determination as to whether the costs involved with the change orders would exceed the costs necessitated by an independent review of the facility plans to determine fiscal responsibility, as well as the costs associated with fees for mitigation or arbitration.
The Council agreed to discuss the matter further at a special session on Jan. 29 at 6 p.m.
The Cloverdale Planning Commission met to further investigate the drafting of a PUD zoning ordinance, after having individually reviewed similar ordinances from Avon, Danville and Lebanon.
It was the consensus of the commission that the document from Danville most closely resembled a product that would best suit the needs of Cloverdale.
Planning Commission member Terry Puffer suggested that the body meet twice monthly, on the first and third Thursdays of each month, to draft individual sections of the proposed ordinance to meet an earlier suggested target date of January 1, 2009 for document completion.