02-26-1996 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Requ^ for Council Action Continued Page 3 of 4 Februar}' 8, 1996 Change Orders Number 1 and 2 For The Brown Road North and Watertowr Road Culvert Projects (SAP 152-107-01 and SAP 152-103-01)_____________________ Clarification Concerning Easement Costs A meeting was recently held with Boncstroo statf to obtain clarifications and explanations of the cost overrun items, and to underscore the importance of proper change order tollow- through. The meeting was very productive in providing important claritications. and in identifying measures to prevent cost overruns and ensure proper follow-through on change orders in the future. One of the results of the discussion was a clarification regarding the cost overrun items related to easement negotiations. The cost of easement acquisition is generally not estimated or tracked as part of the project construction costs. In this case, however, the negotiation of easements involved construction-related costs because the project required work beyond the existing right-of-way on heavily treed property. Three of the cost-overrun items relate to easement acquisition, although they are being reflected as construction costs. These are the retaining wall, and tree replacements on both North Brown Road and Watertown Road. Each of these "construction " costs was added to minimize the costs of easement acquisition. The only way to successfully and reasonably negotiate the easement acquisition was to agree to replace the trees that needed to be removed. Although the inclusion of construction-related items such as tree replacement as pan of the easement acquisition negotiation enabled the negotiations to move ahead to completion (vs. requiring condemnation), they did result in construction cost overruns. The total easement costs including the cons'metion work was $54,461. Although this is not a small amount, it does reflect the level of costs required to acquire easements on heavily treed property. preventative Measures The discussion also involved a review of the construction projec t process, from the feasibility report through the project completion; to identify ways to ensure accur. i cost estimates, prevent cost overruns and ensure any additional cost items are forwarded to the Council for authorization prior to incurring the additional costs. The measures identified are as follows; 1.Prior to finalizing plans and specifications, identify all required easements and any construction-related items that will be required as pan of easement acquisition. These construction items can then be included in the plans and specifications and in the project costs.