LAKEPORT — The Lake County Board of Supervisors approved one change order to a county construction contract, and then denied a second construction contract change order during Tuesday”s regular meeting.
Lake County Public Works Director Brent Siemer introduced to the BOS orders to change the contracts of two county construction projects: one for storm damage repairs on Morgan Valley Road in Lower Lake and one for road improvements in the Clearlake Keys subdivision in Clearlake Oaks.
The BOS approved the change order for the Morgan Valley Road project contract, allocating an additional $34,000 for removal of existing asphalt that had been used to temporarily plug a sinkhole.
The temporary asphalt needs to be removed, then shaped and compacted to a finished grade, before the final asphalt surfacing and drainage work can be completed, according to Siemer.
Siemer said that the additional funding would pre-empt a problem area that could “cause more problems in the future.”
The asphalt removal affects about 100 feet of the 300 feet of road currently being worked on as part of the project, according to Siemer.
Work has begun to fix storm damage to the 300-foot section.
With the additional $34,000, the project remains under $155,000, which was the amount originally budgeted for the project. Contractor Gregg Simpson Trucking, of Ukiah, was awarded the contract with an original bid of just under $120,000.
Siemer then introduced a change order for a road-sealing project in the Clearlake Keys subdivision.
Contracting company International Surfacing Systems requested that the three-week advanced public notice window stipulated in the original contract be shortened to one week, according to Siemer.
Siemer said that the contractor also wanted the requirement for detailed posting in the subdivision one week prior to the beginning of sealing work to be shortened to 48 hours.
These requests came in light of the changing weather, according to Siemer, because the slurry seal would take longer to set during colder, late fall weather than during warmer summer weather.
The BOS voted 5-0 to not approve the change order, with many of the board members saying they thought approving the change order could be a result of the contractor rushing to get the project done this year rather than wait for warmer weather in 2011.
District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing said she thought that the Clearlake Keys community would be angered more “if this gets done wrong” than if it were not finished this year.
Siemer told the BOS that “the roads look halfway decent right now” and that the road”s condition would be harmed if the project is not completed before the winter months.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
