LAKEPORT, Calif. – Due to a defect in a city-owned water tank, the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday night had to approve a contract change order to allow for the additional cost needed to upgrade the equipment.
The council directed City Manager Margaret Silveira to sign a change order at a cost not to exceed $154,000 for the repairs to the 1.5-million gallon water tank.
The upgrade of that tank – along with a second, one-million gallon water tank the city owns – are among several projects funded by US Department of Agriculture grants and low-interest loans to the city.
Public Works Director Mark Brannigan said the issue that arose involved the discovery of “mill scale” – a flaky scale that forms on iron and steel and is a byproduct of the forging or steelmaking process. It prevents paint from adhering properly to surfaces.
After the city's contractor had finished work on the one-million gallon tank – which needed a new floor – work then started on the 1.5-million gallon tank, which was drained, a task completed toward the end of September, Brannigan said.
Brannigan said the contractor cut a large hole in the side of the tank so a forklift could be taken inside as part of the repairs.
As the contractor's workers began sandblasting the tank's interior so it could be recoated, they noticed that the paint was coming off easier than it should have, according to Brannigan.
Due to that change in conditions on the job, the contractor sought a $178,000 change order, which the city denied, Brannigan said.
The city then had experts look at the tank to assess if mill scale was truly present. Brannigan said sandblasting was done throughout the tank to see if it was a pervasive problem.
“It was everywhere that they blasted,” said Brannigan.
While negotiating with the contractor, the city looked at different alternatives, including calling other contractors to ask about how they might have approached the project differently, he said.
Brannigan said everyone the city contacted told them they would not have anticipated encountering mill scale and so they also would have sought a change order to cover the additional cost.
Brannigan said paint should not have been applied over steel with mill scale. It will take the city's contractor two to three times longer than normal to sandblast the mill scale off the tank surface, and the company is proposing twice the cost.
“It's not an ideal situation to be in,” said Brannigan. “When I received this news it was very troubling.”
The contract change order, said Brannigan, was the best alternative, with the city needing to continue the project. “The tank currently is out of service,” he said. “Time is not on our side is another issue.”
Councilman Marc Spillman asked when the tank was constructed. Brannigan said it was built in 2000.
The manufacturer of the sheet metal used for the tank has since been bought and sold twice – once right after the tank was constructed – and the firm that inspected the tank went out of business 10 years ago, Brannigan said.
“So what do you have to do to fix it?” asked Councilman Tom Engstrom.
Brannigan said the needs include a more aggressive material to blast the tank's surface down to its white metal, and dehumidifiers, generators, other equipment and more man hours.
Engstrom asked how much the city originally had budgeted for the tank repairs. Brannigan didn't have the cost for the 1.5-million gallon tank alone, but said the repairs to it and the smaller tank were budgeted at a total cost of $1 million.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina asked how much the larger tank originally cost. Brannigan said he didn't know, explaining that the tank had been constructed before he joined the city staff.
Mattina then asked how much a new tank would cost; Brannigan estimated about $1.7 million.
Mattina wanted to know where the additional funds to cover the change order would come from, with staff suggesting there were various options, from the city water fund to a request to the USDA to amend the project amount. City Finance Director Dan Buffalo said cash flow would not be a problem.
Spillman moved to direct Silveira to sign the change order, with Engstrom seconding and the council voting 4-0. Mayor Kenny Parlet was absent.
Mayor Pro Tem Martin Scheel thanked Brannigan, acknowledging it was a tough situation.
Scheel said if the city doesn't take care of the issue now, it will become worse.
Brannigan told Lake County News after the meeting that mill scale does not present a health hazard for city water users.
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Lakeport City Council approves change order for water tank repairs
- Elizabeth Larson
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