Days continue to be added onto the completion date for the city’s Milner Recreation Center. It is now not scheduled to be finished until mid-January.

The city’s Ad Hoc Committee, established to oversee the project, met and approved two change orders and four additional days to complete work associated with those changes. Along with the days approved by city officials, HRF Design approved additional days due to rain and COVID-19 delays. The contract date for completion is now Jan. 15.

Change order No. 63 was to replace dampers within the racquetball court wall because the wrong ones were used.

“The state fire marshal has required smoke-rated dampers instead of regular air transfer grilles,” said city administrator Nolan Ming. “Currently, there are just straight dampers like you would have at your house. It just lets the air come through. The fire marshal is requiring a fire rating on those.” Making that change will cost $9,995.

Ming says HFR Design made that mistake and should pay for it.

“We’ve got to do it and I feel like it’s an issue that should have been caught during the design phase,” said Ming. “I recommend that we approve it as a construction change directive. I would also ask that we grant a couple extra days. Sain Construction asked for seven days for that work. I think three seems reasonable.”

Change order No. 67 is to move existing fire alarm devices that were covered by new construction.

“New walls, basically, cover the fire alarm devices,” said Ming. “The architect did not realize that, but the fire marshal found it upon inspection. The cost to move those four devices out is $4,501. Sain Construction asked for seven additional days.” 

Ad Hoc Committee members approved four total days and both change orders as directives. A change order directive means city officials approved the work and associated costs to be taken from the project’s contingency fund. However, the city reserves the right to negotiate the cost of both with HFR after the project is complete.