Change order OK'd

A change order for a street and multi-purpose path project has been approved, reluctantly.

Portland Board of Works approved the change order request from 3D Construction of Muncie during a brief meeting Thursday after it had denied it last month.

Portland clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips explained that Indiana Department of Transportation approved the change order — it was for lost time on the Blaine Pike paving and multi-use path project because of a water main break — saying it fell within their guidelines for the contractor to make such a request.

Portland Board of Works denied the request at its March 6 meeting, with board member Jerry Leonhard saying the company did not stop working while the break was being fixed but rather moved to work on a different area of the project.

Phillips noted that because INDOT has now approved the change order, the board could face legal action if it did not follow suit.

Board members Steve McIntosh, Mayor Jeff Westlake and Leonhard then unanimously approved the change order.

They also approved a contract with IWM Consulting of Fort Wayne for quarterly groundwater testing at the former Sheller-Globe north site on Bridge Street. The firm will handle testing in six wells at the former industrial site.

Also Thursday, the board approved the following:

•A contract with Life Works for counseling services for employees on an as-needed basis. The city originally hired the firm in 2023 to provide assistance following traumatic incidences on the job. Phillips said the contract was update to provide greater confidentiality to the process in hopes of encouraging more employees to use the service.

•A $654,464.70 pay request from James Jackson of Bluffton for work in February on upgrades at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

•A contract with Choice One Engineering for work related to an INDOT Community Crossings grant.