It turns out the Knox Wastewater Treatment Plant improvement project wasn’t as close to being done as previously thought. After numerous delays and cost overruns, it appeared last month that the only thing remaining was some final wiring work.
But during Wednesday’s board of works meeting, engineer Steve Henschen with Jones Petrie Rafinski said it still wasn’t fully complete. “Some of it could be considered work as part of the warranty,” Henschen explained. “Some of it was because of the HVAC system. They did the test and balance report right before our meeting last month, and then it was discovered, when we read through that report, there were several control panels in the ductwork that weren’t installed or weren’t installed properly.”
Wastewater Superintendent Jason Clemons said issues with the gas monitoring system caused him to get 22 alarms in a single afternoon. They said crews were on-site to fix the issues and test the system again.
Another problem that occurred in January was when the grit pump completely stopped working. Henschen said Clemens ended up taking much of the piping apart and finally found three or four chunks of concrete stuck in the pipe. “Those concrete chunks only came from one place, and that was during construction,” Henschen said. “They accidentally somehow fell into that big grit tank, went through the grit pump and got lodged up there. That plugged all the solids in, and that’s what stopped the pump from running. Since that’s been cleared out, the system’s been running great again.”
But Henschen said seeking liquidated damages could jeopardize the city’s ability to close its grant on time, which, in turn, could make it harder for Knox to get funding from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs in the future.
In the end, board members agreed to release the remaining retainage but deduct up to $5,000 as reimbursement for the almost two days of work the wastewater department spent taking the piping apart. That could reduce the final payment to as low as $57,500. Board members also approved a change order, reflecting that $5,000 deduction, along with a similar one approved last month for $7,000. That brings the final contract amount with Thieneman down to just over $1,713,000.
Henschen stressed that the work is still under a full one-year warranty, and performance and maintenance bonds are in place.
