Sundial Utilities board approves change orders for wastewater expansion, adding $108,445 to contract

The Sundial Utilities Board of Milton voted unanimously March 19 to approve change orders that raise the expansion project contract by a net $108,445 and adopted a budget amendment to move unexpected fiscal-year 2025 revenue into fiscal year 2026 to cover the work.

Mr. Spears, a Sundial utilities staff member, told the board that Change Order No. 1 includes a $119,000 deductive item from negotiated value engineering and an additive item of $227,445 to reflect contractor price changes after the 90-day bid guarantee had expired. "That gives us a net change of $108,445," Mr. Spears said, adding that the total contract will increase from $10,025,000 to $10,135,445, or roughly a 1.8 percent change. Staff recommended approval of both change orders.

Board members pressed staff for the reason behind the price changes. Mr. Spears and another member explained suppliers and subcontractors raised prices because of tariffs and higher labor costs; one council member (speaker 6) noted fuel and a roughly $1.50-per-hour increase in labor rates accounted for major additions. The member said the change does not create funding shortfalls given the previously approved loan and existing reserves.

Councilman Hawthorne moved to approve the budget amendment, identified in the meeting as Resolution 2026-5, which brings unexpected FY25 Sundial revenue forward into FY26 for the expansion project; Councilman Powell seconded. The board approved the resolution unanimously. Later, Councilman Hawthorne moved to approve the change orders and Councilman Farrow seconded; that motion also passed unanimously.

During public comment, resident Pam Mitchell raised concern that value engineering might have swapped previously discussed American-made valves for Chinese-made ones. The mayor reported that Mr. Cook, a project staff member, had confirmed the valves remain American made and that the value-engineering changes did not sacrifice that requirement.

The board also approved the Feb. 19 minutes and the financial report earlier in the meeting; a staff member will follow up on an apparent discrepancy in customer-account counts across recent months. After completing these items the board adjourned the Sundial meeting and moved into its work session.

Votes at a glance
- Motion to approve minutes from Feb. 19: moved by Councilman Powers, seconded by Councilman McKee; outcome: approved unanimously (all members present).
- Motion to approve financial report: moved and seconded; outcome: approved unanimously (all members present).
- Resolution 2026-5 (budget amendment to move unexpected FY25 revenue into FY26): moved by Councilman Hawthorne, seconded by Councilman Powell; outcome: approved unanimously.
- Change orders (deductive $119,000; additive $227,445; net +$108,445; contract increases from $10,025,000 to $10,135,445): moved by Councilman Hawthorne, seconded by Councilman Farrow; outcome: approved unanimously.

What happens next
Staff said the contractor is ready to move forward and the project is expected to be expedited; the board did not set further conditions in the meeting. The Sundial meeting closed and members proceeded to the scheduled work session.