Bike Path Issue Surfaces Again

The issue of the bike path adjacent to the newly opened 18th street extension dominated City Council meeting Tuesday night, but at the end of an hour's discussion Council voted 3-2 to issue a change order deleting $161,000 from the project and adding $43,000, and paying APAC Construction Company the $43,000.

The $161,000 figure was for a concrete path on 18th extending down Shundi to 9th street. It was approved in the original plan by Council 4-1 but was deleted at the request of the city manager later, to keep the cost below engineering estimates. The $43,000 was for an asphalt path on 18th street, built from asphalt bid on a quantity basis.

City Attorney Ron Cates spent considerable time listening to audio tapes of the Sept. 20, 2005 council meeting when Councilor Dave Helms moved to award the bid for approximately $2,225,000. That issue passed 4-1 with Larry Parham voting nay. That bid included the concrete bike path.
Afterwards on Oct. 11, 2005, a contract was awarded but approximately $500,000 was eliminated for construction, including the $161,000 concrete bike path. But no change order was ever issued to reinstate the path at a cost of $48,000. The asphalt path was added by city staff at the last stages of construction, with leftover asphalt bid on a quantity basis, officials said.
And, when all is said and done, there is still $23,000 left over, unspent, for the project as approved.

"To approve payment of the $43,000 without the change order would be unlawful," Cates told Council. "We need to reduce the contract by $161,000 and add back the $43,000, with a change order", he said. "It is not unusual to issue change orders during a construction project, it is done all the time," he added. He said the actual audio tapes of the September '05 meeting were not exactly word for word per the written minutes, but it was clear the tapes showed that Council approved the bike path at that time.

A final reconciliation for the project cannot be done until sod and seeding are completed, which may not occur for another four months, since this is the wrong time of the year to be doing such work, officials said.

In other council action:

--Council presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Lisa Allred, City Treasurer, who began her city employment in 2001 and has kept up with advancements with new computers, systems, audit reports and municipal requirements.

--Heard a request from Buffalo South resident Willis Winder regarding funding for maintenance and new lighting for the subdivision, originally built some 20 years ago by Gayle Towry. Residents currently pay individually for street lighting at around $275 per month. Two entryway lights were recently removed by Towry, which residents want restored. City Manager Bill Galletly said staff would obtain costs for restoring the entryway lighting, approved by a 5-0 vote by Council.

--Authorized a "request for qualifications" for professional services to assist in the design and cost for a new Aquatic Park, which would be voted on by the citizens of Grove in the April election. The plan would be developed using local citizen input with the expertise of an engineering firm that specializes in such parks. It will take about 60 days to get the report done and the notice to include on the ballot in April must be accomplished 60 days prior to the election. Estimated cost would be $4 to $5 million.

--Disposed of a number of routine matters, including the closing of 18th street between Broadway and Main for REC Day Sept. 16; approved a resolution establishing the National Incident Management System as the standard for incident management in Grove; approved a Statement of Agreement for mutual aid between the city and the Cherokee Nation; and authorized the Service Agreement between the city and Grand Gateway.