City Manager Matthews advised the City Council that she had met with representatives of James F. Knott Construction Company earlier in the day to discuss the outstanding Proposed Change Orders (PCOs). The city advised James F. Knott Construction Company that it was not prepared at this juncture to accept some of the PCOs as submitted. A number of these PCOs resulted from subcontractor submissions. It was agreed that James F. Knott Construction Company would share the city’s analysis with the applicable subcontractor for comment and/or submission of additional documentation. James F. Knott's contract with its subcontractors provided a timeframe for this process to take place. If this timeframe was not met by the subcontractors, the city's position would be final. City Manager Matthews stated that the city should receive the response on the unresolved PCOs on or before Tuesday, July 12th. A status report on the PCOs would be provided on July 18th.
The City Manager stated that the resolution of the PCOs with James F. Knott Construction Company would have a significant impact on the available funding for the Community Plaza Level phase of the project. The bids for the Community Plaza Level were opened on June 8th and were good for a period of 90 days. Due to the need to resolve the PCOs with James F. Knott Construction Company and timing issues associated the current construction, City Manager Matthews advised the City Council that a single reading ordinance to award the contract for the Community Plaza Level would likely occur on September 6th.
City Manager Matthews informed the City Council that, during her meeting with James F. Knott Construction Company to discuss the PCOs, the contractor informed her that the city may wish to reconsider the installation of a chair rail in the atrium area. The wood base boards in this area were replaced with vinyl as a cost saving measure but the chair rail remained. As a result, the city may wish to delete the chair rail for aesthetic reasons. If the city chose to do so, the city would receive a credit for the millwork. A decision in regard to this matter needed to be made in the near future before fabrication of the chair rail commenced.