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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, September 13, 2021 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 7 of 9 <br /> <br />17. 2021 ROAD MAINTENANCE PROJECT – FEE ADJUSTMENT REQUEST – BOLTON <br />AND MENK – Continued <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh said he will be tough on anyone who comes and tells him this is what they bid and now <br />they need more money. He noted not long ago they were bidding engineering work for underneath the rail <br />line and they had to go out and get a second thought. At that point, Bolton and Menk came back and <br />essentially matched that number so the City gave it to them. Mayor Walsh would not be in favor of giving <br />the $25,000; there might be a number there but he thinks everyone must take responsibility for some of <br />that. He is willing to have the City take some of that if the contractors spread it out but he does not know <br />what that number is. <br /> <br />Johnson asked what prevents Bolton and Menk from estimating the not-to-exceed to be high. He asked if <br />they are in competition when they give these numbers. <br /> <br />Mr. Martini replied they are not in competition and it is based upon the hours they estimate based on <br />similar projects, a back-and-forth with City Staff on the services they will provide, and the Company <br />understanding the scope of the work. He understands what the Mayor is saying and thinks they have done <br />a pretty good job of estimating those fees over the year. <br /> <br />Crosby asked what the delays were in the project this year. <br /> <br />Mr. Martini replied it is not necessarily the delays but the sequencing that the contractor planned as it was <br />broken up into phases. <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh thinks they have had a good partnership, Bolton and Menk has done great, but he thinks <br />they need to talk through this. <br /> <br />Johnson stated it is a not-to-exceed number for a reason and if they cannot rely on those then Bolton and <br />Menk is not fulfilling its contract. He noted they do some work together, there is value in the relationship, <br />but at the same time they made a bad estimate and now they have to eat it. He said that is how <br />construction works. <br /> <br />Mr. Martini noted they are not construction but professional services. If the contractor put in more pipe <br />for the City, they would pay him for more pipe. He said it has always been more important to maintain a <br />long-term relationship with the City than to get caught up in this. Mr. Martini is asking because he <br />believes they provide the service and it would be fair to be compensated for that. <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh pointed out the City’s budgets rely on those numbers, also. <br /> <br />Seals agrees with Mayor Walsh a bit, as sometimes they have to come to a number and eat the costs. She <br />said they should come asking the City to help them out, but there is not guarantee they will get it all back. <br /> <br />Printup does not think they have ever had a conversation like this. <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh noted Staff has authority to approve up to $5,000 and this is a bigger number. <br /> <br />Edwards clarified he would never approve even a dollar over what the not-to-exceed number is. He does <br />have some discretion if they change the scope such as thinking they would need four pieces of pipe but