For the second time in a month, the Wayne City Council was asked to accept the resignation of one of its members.
Council member Dwaine Spieker, who represents Ward 3 (the northwest quadrant of the city) has resigned from his position due to the fact that he is moving out of the Ward.
"I will still be living in Wayne and I thank the council for allowing me to be a part of the council," Spieker said.
Earlier this month, Council member Yasuko Taoka, who represented Ward 2, submitted her resignation.
A notice of vacancy for these positions has been published and interested persons are encouraged to contact Mayor Cale Giese or the city office for more information.
Council members spent considerable time discussing whether or not to act on request for a change order from Myers Construction, Inc. for the Pine Heights Road & Utility Improvements Project.
The request was to extend the substantial and final completion dates to Nov. 5, 2021 and Nov. 19, 2021 respectively.
The city had received a letter from the firm which indicated that labor shortages due to COVID-19 and changes in the project were reasons for the request.
Jon Mooberry with JEO, engineer for the project, told the council that in requests such as this he looks at being flexible with the contractor and noted that the contractor did communicate with him on a regular basis. He also noted that the project is progressing fairly quickly at the present time.
Council member Chris Woehler questioned why the contractor waited so long to ask for an extension and why they took so long to start the project. The original bid specified that the start date was April 4 and construction did not begin until July 22. He noted that other bidders on the project specified they could begin work July 1 and finish Oct. 1.
City Administrator Wes Blecke said the contractors have "been good to work with and the project has gone well. The city has extended completion dates for other projects in recent history."
He said one of his early concerns involved the deadline for grant funding for the project. However, the deadline for this has been extended to May of 2022, thereby extending the time frame for completion.
City Planner/Street Director Joel Hansen told the council that the project is 90-95 percent complete and talked about what work remains to be completed.
Council member Matt Eischied said he felt comfortable with the percentage of paving that has been done and is happy with the way the project is going.
"This is not ideal, but unfortunately, we have had to deal with this on other projects and have granted extensions in the past," Eischied said.
Following debate, council voted 5-1 to allow for the extension with Council member Woehler voting against.
Action was taken on a certificate of an extended warranty for corrective action on the 2019 Nebraska Street Improvements Project with Robert Woehler & Sons Construction.
Jon Mooberry also spoke on this agenda item and said that, following discussion with the contractor, the original request for a 12-month extended warranty was revised to a nine-month warranty. This would take the warranty through the winter freeze/thaw period and into July 2022.
He also explained what the engineer would be looking for in terms of cracks in the concrete and what would be required of the contractor should additional cracking occur.
City Attorney Amy Miller told the council that the agreement had been negotiated with the contractor and all were comfortable with it.
Council members voted 5-0-1 in favor of the agreement with Council member Woehler abstaining.
In other action, the council approved Resolution 2021-62 which will allow for a community-wide blanket construction permit agreement between the city of Wayne and Black Hills Nebraska Gas, LLC, doing business as Black Hills Energy.
The request was made as the company finishes up work in the northeast portion of the city and moves into the southeast portion.
Work in the area could begin as early as Monday, Oct. 25 and the preliminary work should be completed in two to three weeks.
Council members approved a resolution accepting a proposal from Olsson for engineering design services for the Chicago Street and Storm Sewer and Paving Project.
Three bids for the work had been received and the bid of $32,600 from Olsson was the lowest.
The final resolution of the evening involved accepting a bid and awarding a contract on the Well No. 6 Pump Replacement Project.
The well, located on West 21st Street, has been shut down due to nitrate issues. Well No. 7, located on the Golf Course, has also been shut down for approximately 18 months and is in emergency status.
City staff feels that there is a possibility that pumping water from Well No. 6 to irrigate the golf course might clear up the water from Well No. 7.
To get Well No. 6 operational, a new pump needs to be installed. The Golf Course has agreed to cost share the $34,405 cost. This is the amount of the bid submitted by Downey Drilling.
The Wayne City Council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
