Council approves change order, purchases replacement blowers for Hamby plant in $1.3M contract

The Abilene City Council on a unanimous voice vote approved Change Order 1 to the Hamby VFD and blower project, which will increase the contract by $706,000 and bring the total contract value to $1,300,000 to be paid from the city's capital improvement program (CIP). Jeremiah Bauch, assistant director of water utilities, told the council the city will purchase two replacement blowers outright after vendor delays and installation rework forced longer rental use and additional contractor labor.

Bauch said the original contract was $608,000 and described retrofit work required because conduit locations and concrete pad sizes differed from the as-builts. "This will take it to a total contract of 1,300,000 which will be coming from our CIP," he said. Bauch also said the city negotiated a lower rental rate for the remaining temporary blower—$12,800 per month for a single rental unit versus the prior $35,000 per month for both units—until all three replacement blowers are installed and the rental unit is returned. A council member confirmed the rental unit will be returned once the final blower is online.