Council approves amendment to 20th/5th water-sewer project after engineer quantity error

The City Council voted to approve a contract amendment to the 20 Fifth Street water and sewer improvements project after the city’s engineer and the contractor reconciled an overstatement in the water-line length.

City staff said the 20 Fifth Street work is grant-funded; the project extends a water line and installs a sewer line to a parcel intended to help attract a developer proposing housing and retail. During the meeting staff told council engineers had originally measured the water line about 1,200 feet farther north than the work required, and the amendment reduces quantities and the contractor price accordingly.

Staff described the change as an adjustment to align the contract with actual quantities and the city’s original scope; staff also said the amended contract still leaves the project more costly than initial internal estimates and that previous council action increased the budget earlier. The contract list name shown in the agenda packet was Hickory Cattle Company (contractor), and the agenda described an adjusted contract price. Council approved the amendment on a roll call.

No additional programmatic approvals were made at the meeting; staff will continue construction and manage grant reporting. Councilmembers emphasized that the project’s purpose—extending utilities to make the site attractive to private development—remains unchanged.