HUMBOLDT — With the city’s $1.4 million water line improvement project nearly complete, Humboldt City Council members said Monday they are withholding for now a payment to the project’s general contractor until a final change order can be further discussed.
At issue is an audit of the project conducted by Shafer, Kline and Warren, the engineers in the water line work.
The audit identified some items which have not yet been billed by the contractor, Northern Pipeline, City Administrator Larry Tucker explained.
Most of the items resulted from too conservative an estimate by the engineer in the amount of 1-inch pipe needed to connect the new water lines to customer meters — about $58,000 worth — and the contractor reconnected more meters than what was originally estimated. Those items, coupled with special casings needed to replace the water line to the water tower in Humboldt’s industrial park totaled $118,859.75.
That change order can be cut nearly in half, Tucker further explained, because the city needed only three of the 20 new fire hydrants it purchased for the project. Humboldt already has reached agreement with Olpe city officials to sell the additional hydrants for $2,819 apiece — $47,923 in all. Humboldt also will save about $10,000 by not having to replace all of the hydrants.
The net change order — $60,936.75 — will leave $13,844 in a contingency fund.
That’s where the problem arises.
Closing off the old water lines will cost $28,433, Tucker said, because the old system is so old and has few working valves.
Tucker said Humboldt has $70,702 in a water tower maintenance reserve that has not been used in recent years. Council members agreed, 8-0, to use up to $20,000 in those funds to pay for that work, but agreed that another meeting is needed this month before approving the final change orders.
“We need to get the engineers and contractor and anybody else who worked on this together so we can find out who’s responsible for the mistake,” Mayor Bob Sharp said.
A meeting date has not been determined.
COUNCIL members voted 6-2 to purchase a new lawn mower for the sewer plant. Council members accepted the low bid from J&W Equipment of Iola, but not before debating whether it was necessary to do so by using a three-year lease purchase agreement.
“Are we in such financial shape that we can’t buy a lawn mower outright?” Councilman Sam Murrow asked.
The city has enough money, but the sewer fund does not, Tucker replied.
“These utility funds should be able to stand on their own, so the departments can purchase their own equipment,” Tucker said. And Humboldt has increased sewer rates in recent years to replenish those reserves. But with other costs, those reserves are not sufficient to pay for the mower.
The city agreed to buy the J&W mower for $4,999. With a $1,000 down payment, the city will pay the remaining $3,999 over the next three years, which will add about $350 to the purchase price. Council members Vada Aikins and Dan Julich were opposed.
THE SPEED limit along K-224 Highway will be reduced to 45 mph as motorists approach Humboldt from the east.
The highway is now considered in Humboldt’s city limits after the city annexed land to the north recently. Decreasing the speed limit there puts the highway’s approach on par with Old U.S. 169 approaches from the north and south, both of which also feature 45 mph speed limits.
The city will purchase two 45 mph speed limit signs at opposite ends of the zone, plus a third “reduced speed ahead” sign at a combined cost of $286.
SHARP, in his last regular meeting as mayor, thanked the council members for their service.
“Humboldt is known throughout the state as a town with good products,” Sharp said, citing in particular Monarch Cement and B&W Trailer Hitches. “I’ve wanted to help the town continue to grow and prosper.”
Much of that growth and prosperity can be attributed to the council members, Sharp declared.
“I’m very proud to have served the people with an open mind,” he said.
