|
Problems at golf course well call for change order
Drilling problems at the new golf course well prompted a special meeting of the Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District (HISID) Board of Commissioners last Wednesday and resulted in a change order. The change will cost the district an additional $54,900 from the original bid of $147,933.50 by Layne-Western, a subsidiary of Layne-Christensen, the low bidder for the project, making the new total $202,833.50. This is still under the budgeted cost for the project of $265,000. Problems with the drilling have been encountered from the start. In the HISID business meeting of Feb. 23, District Manager Kevin Crosson noted in his manager's report that a "guesstimate" for the well's depth would be at 1,800 feet, in keeping with other wells drilled in Holiday Island. Layne-Western was expecting to reach bedrock at between 20-40 feet. At 205 feet, this had still not occurred. "The casing was to begin at 180 feet," Crosson told the board. The location of the new well was chosen based on a hydrogeological report completed when the district first looked at radium remediation procedures for Well #2. It was determined the new well should be located at least 1,000 feet away from the existing well and south of it, Crosson said in Monday's work session. On March 2, drilling was suspended when the company encountered caves and crevices at 185 feet that resulted in a "circulation loss" and prevented removal of shavings from the borehole. Layne-Western proposed filling the crevices with concrete, abandoning the hole and drilling at a new site, at additional costs for lost wages and an undetermined amount for concrete. Also, the company could not give a guarantee that the same problem would not be encountered elsewhere. Mathis, Carter and Associates (MCA Engineering), engineers for the district, was not happy with this response. Mike Mathis, president, told the board he had contacted the second bidder on the original project, Midwest Hydro, to see if anything could be done to salvage the existing well site and continue the job. He noted Layne-Christensen had drilled other wells for Holiday Island with no problems, having worked with the district for 30 years. "It's nobody's fault," he said. "You run into caves and caverns ... it's just the nature of the beast when drilling wells. Out of all the wells you have out here, this appears to be the only one with this problem." But, he said, other problems made Layne-Western's proposal unacceptable. The original engineer who worked for Layne-Christensen was no longer with the company. "They have new management and we feel like we're dealing with people that don't have the experience," Mathis said. "They wanted $45,000 to abandon this hole, which is absolutely out of the question.... If you start another hole, you're in the same situation. It's going to happen all over again." He said Midwest Hydro had come up with a proposal to continue the job at the same site for a cost of $193,000 and a 100-percent guarantee of success. Mathis initially said his recommendation was to terminate the contract with Layne-Western and go with Midwest Hydro. But he said he had contacted Layne-Western to see if they could come up with a proposal similar to Midwest Hydro's. He reported Layne-Western was talking with its parent company. "Maybe give them an extra day to come up with a guaranteed solution," he said. The board discussed the legal ramifications of terminating the contract with Layne-Western. Any disputes would go to arbitration rather than a court. In the end the board, with two of its five members absent, voted to authorize Crosson to negotiate a change order with Layne-Western if a guaranteed solution with an acceptable price was proposed. Crosson said in a telephone interview Thursday he had reached an acceptable agreement with Layne-Western. The company will continue the project, using similar techniques to Midwest Hydro's proposal to seal the caverns and continue drilling. They will drill a larger casing to a 185-foot depth and put a smaller casing inside it to bring up the shavings. The proposal includes a guaranteed installation of 16-inch casing and stabilization of the lower portions of the borehole to between 185-205 feet to allow continued drilling with a 12-inch borehole. The contract deadlines, originally scheduled to be completed by early April, will be extended to May 5. Parks grant app squabble resolves into compromise A squabble for potential grant funding resolved in a compromise Monday evening as representatives of two organizations agreed during the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to combine forces to apply for one $15,000 state grant. Elementary school principal hired Wayne Carr of Paragould has been hired as the new Eureka Springs Elementary School principal. Problems at golf course well call for change order Drilling problems at the new golf course well prompted a special meeting of the Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District (HISID) Board of Commissioners last Wednesday and resulted in a change order. Column: "Sauntering": Let's just do away with local taxes Here's a thought - let's do completely away with the CAPC tax and all the other local taxes. Let's disband the City Advertising and Promotion Commission (CAPC). |
