City Approves Study Of Harrison Street Drainage Issue
April 1, 2022 at 10:19 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Friday, the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety approved a contract with Wessler Engineering Inc. for an amount not to exceed $35,000 to study the area, as requested by Utility Manager Brian Davison.
“We’re talking about putting in some sort of retention/detention pond, potentially then even going above and beyond and putting some walking track around it and doing something, sort of a park area right there,” Davison said. “So this is just a study to see what options we would have available, what we could do, what will work, what won’t work. And kind of look at the volume of water coming there and how much we’re going to have to deal with. So that’s what this study will do.”
Asked for comments by Mayor Joe Thallemer, city engineer Aaron Ott said, “It’s a well-written scope of work in what they’re going to provide. I feel like, based on the past work this consultant has done for the city, we’re going to get a good road map to know what we need to do out of this and it’s kind of the starting point for starting to decide what we need to do to improve it. We need this.”
Davison said this study is similar to the southside drainage study the city did several years ago that led to all the projects in the Eisenhower area leading up to the Kelly Park pond improvements.
“This is going to give us a road map,” he said.
Thallemer asked if all the surrounding residential areas drained into the big open area behind the WPD.
“The ones that are east of the police do, and then it actually starts up on Center Street and drains down to that area,” Davison responded.
Board member and City Councilman Jeff Grose asked if the study would also provide information “if it were to be let go by the city, so, (would) that provide information for us there, too, if it were going to be developed at all?”
Davison said that was not part of it.
Thallemer said there’s been discussions of road extensions in the area, but nothing more.
Ott pointed out that the contract is for an amount not to exceed $35,000, to be billed on hourly rates, so “we possibly will have the ability to ask them to do a little more and still stay within” the amount. The contract may come well under the not-to-exceed amount as Wessler wasn’t confident about giving a total fee amount until they started digging into it.
Thallemer said if he remembered correctly, “Wasn’t there also a little bit of an environmental issue there? A substation back there?”
Davison said they’ve done limited testing back there but did not find any areas of concern.
“Well, this sounds like a great first step to see how that property can be utilized because right now it’s a big piece,” Thallemer said.
Grose made a motion to accept the contract, Board member George Clemens seconded it and it was approved 3-0.
In other utility business, the Board of Works approved:
• The contract with G & G Hauling & Excavating for Kelly Park pond improvements for $589,143.67. The improvements include increase pond capacity and drainage of the area.
City engineer Aaron Ott said the Board had approved the awarding of the contract to G & G in 2021 but it hadn’t approved the actual contract until now.
The Board also approved a change order for the project for $13,510.88.
Davison explained that the project was slated to begin in late summer 2021, but due to an issue with an easement, the project got pushed back. G & G agreed to push it subject to being given more time “because they’re not even starting until after the previous substantial completion date.”
The change order is for G & G to adjust the prices for some of their materials because prices keep going up and it was the city that wanted to push the project back, Davison said.
“Overall, I think it’s pretty reasonable for pushing a project six months. But that’s what this change order is for,” he said.
The change order increases the overall pond improvements contract to $602,654.55.
• The signing of the Center Lake shoreline restoration contract with G & G Hauling & Excavating for $118,916.50.
Davison said the Board awarded the bid at the last Board meeting.
• A change order for a deduction of $9,434.10 from Insight Pipe Contracting LLC for the sanitary sewer rehabilitation project.
Davison said, “Most of this, there’s a couple pipes we removed out of the line because they did not need it or basically they’re inactive or we have other plans in the future for them. There’s a couple of them that were a different size so that was a deduct. And then we did add a couple lines in, and those are the increases. So you see the net change order is for a minus $9,434.10.”
A pay application totaling $156,308.85 to Insight Pipe Contracting LLC for the sewer lining completed so far also was approved. The total includes the change order in it.
Friday, the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety approved a contract with Wessler Engineering Inc. for an amount not to exceed $35,000 to study the area, as requested by Utility Manager Brian Davison.
“We’re talking about putting in some sort of retention/detention pond, potentially then even going above and beyond and putting some walking track around it and doing something, sort of a park area right there,” Davison said. “So this is just a study to see what options we would have available, what we could do, what will work, what won’t work. And kind of look at the volume of water coming there and how much we’re going to have to deal with. So that’s what this study will do.”
Asked for comments by Mayor Joe Thallemer, city engineer Aaron Ott said, “It’s a well-written scope of work in what they’re going to provide. I feel like, based on the past work this consultant has done for the city, we’re going to get a good road map to know what we need to do out of this and it’s kind of the starting point for starting to decide what we need to do to improve it. We need this.”
Davison said this study is similar to the southside drainage study the city did several years ago that led to all the projects in the Eisenhower area leading up to the Kelly Park pond improvements.
“This is going to give us a road map,” he said.
Thallemer asked if all the surrounding residential areas drained into the big open area behind the WPD.
“The ones that are east of the police do, and then it actually starts up on Center Street and drains down to that area,” Davison responded.
Board member and City Councilman Jeff Grose asked if the study would also provide information “if it were to be let go by the city, so, (would) that provide information for us there, too, if it were going to be developed at all?”
Davison said that was not part of it.
Thallemer said there’s been discussions of road extensions in the area, but nothing more.
Ott pointed out that the contract is for an amount not to exceed $35,000, to be billed on hourly rates, so “we possibly will have the ability to ask them to do a little more and still stay within” the amount. The contract may come well under the not-to-exceed amount as Wessler wasn’t confident about giving a total fee amount until they started digging into it.
Thallemer said if he remembered correctly, “Wasn’t there also a little bit of an environmental issue there? A substation back there?”
Davison said they’ve done limited testing back there but did not find any areas of concern.
“Well, this sounds like a great first step to see how that property can be utilized because right now it’s a big piece,” Thallemer said.
Grose made a motion to accept the contract, Board member George Clemens seconded it and it was approved 3-0.
In other utility business, the Board of Works approved:
• The contract with G & G Hauling & Excavating for Kelly Park pond improvements for $589,143.67. The improvements include increase pond capacity and drainage of the area.
City engineer Aaron Ott said the Board had approved the awarding of the contract to G & G in 2021 but it hadn’t approved the actual contract until now.
The Board also approved a change order for the project for $13,510.88.
Davison explained that the project was slated to begin in late summer 2021, but due to an issue with an easement, the project got pushed back. G & G agreed to push it subject to being given more time “because they’re not even starting until after the previous substantial completion date.”
The change order is for G & G to adjust the prices for some of their materials because prices keep going up and it was the city that wanted to push the project back, Davison said.
“Overall, I think it’s pretty reasonable for pushing a project six months. But that’s what this change order is for,” he said.
The change order increases the overall pond improvements contract to $602,654.55.
• The signing of the Center Lake shoreline restoration contract with G & G Hauling & Excavating for $118,916.50.
Davison said the Board awarded the bid at the last Board meeting.
• A change order for a deduction of $9,434.10 from Insight Pipe Contracting LLC for the sanitary sewer rehabilitation project.
Davison said, “Most of this, there’s a couple pipes we removed out of the line because they did not need it or basically they’re inactive or we have other plans in the future for them. There’s a couple of them that were a different size so that was a deduct. And then we did add a couple lines in, and those are the increases. So you see the net change order is for a minus $9,434.10.”
A pay application totaling $156,308.85 to Insight Pipe Contracting LLC for the sewer lining completed so far also was approved. The total includes the change order in it.
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