City to change contracts for contractor on unfinished water system improvement projects

The Madison City Commission is deciding how to move forward in handling unfinished water system improvement projects in the city.  

City Director of Engineering and Community Development Ryan Hegg outlined to city commissioners Monday different options provided by Banner Associates in how to proceed with the contractor on a couple of the projects – J&J Earthworks of Milbank.  He said that the city’s Phase 1-A Rural Development project, which includes work in the northwest area of the city, has met substantial completion and a preliminary punch list of items to be completed was provided to the contractor in December of 2021.  Hegg said that no work on the punch list items in this project was done during the 2022 construction season, and J&J Earthworks was given an updated list last month.  Weston Blasius with Banner Associates, the City’s Engineer, said they recommended moving the final completion date for that project with no liquidated damages unless the date isn’t met.

Blasius said that they aren’t proposing liquidated damages on this portion of the project yet because the contractor did reach substantial completion.

As far as the Phase 1-B portion of the city’s Rural Development project, which is a 21-block area of northwest Madison, Blasius said that the contractor has not met the interim or substantial completion requirement.  City Administrator Jameson Berreth said that assessing liquidated damages on this portion of the project makes more sense.

The liquidated damages on the Phase 1-B project is 17-hundred dollars a working date on the interim or substantial completion, and 850-dollars a working day on the final completion date.  Commissioners approved these options for the contractor, which will also include a winter shutdown agreement, so that the liquidated damages will not be assessed when work cannot be done on the project.  Blasius said that a change order for the project incorporating these adjusted terms will also need to come before commissioners for their approval.  

December 6, 2022