County closes out phase 1 of Wapsi Trail

The Wapsipinicon Trail project is now complete. 

During the Oct. 8 Jones County Supervisor meeting, the board approved a Statement of Completion and final acceptance of the work performed by Boomerang Corporation. 

The approval came after a lengthy discussion regarding the final change order from Boomerang. 

Todd Happel, Anderson- Bogert, was the construction administrator who oversaw the project. After meeting with Boomerang, Happel presented a change order that added just two working days to the project, resulting in $2,000 of liquidated damages. 

“Boomerang is not negotiating anymore on this project,” reported Happel. 

Initially, it was thought Boomerang was 19 days over their contract. But negotiations led to a compromise of just two days. Happel said they considered the weather and working conditions throughout the 19-day schedule. 

“It can be justified,” he said, asking the supervisors to grant an extra 17 working days back to Boomerang. “I know it’s not what everyone wanted.” 

Supervisor Joe Oswald questioned why the county/ trail committee had to pay Happel an additional $20,000 for his services, when it was Boomerang who caused the delay. 

“What’s their stake?” asked Oswald. “Why does the trail committee have to pay for that?” 

Happel explained that Boomerang “burned a third of their days before the project even got started.” He said if the project had started on time last June, it could have been completed by July this year and closed out well before now. 

“We had no control of the situation,” he said. 

Supervisor Wayne Manternach questioned the process of deciding on the number of working days that were missed. 

“Was there a mediator? An arbitrator?” asked Manternach. 

“They’re allowed to dispute the working days,” answered Happel, who admitted this was a whole new experience for him. 

“I’ve never gone through a situation like this,” he added. 

“We pushed them hard and got the project finished.” 

Several members of the trail committee were present (Brad Hatcher, Brad Mormann, Lisa McQuillen and Kris Gobeli). Hatcher said while they share the supervisors’ concerns, at this point, there’s nothing more that can be done. 

“We don’t really see another direction on this,” he said. “We need to close it out and move on with phase two.” 

Mormann said there are grants and funding to cover the additional expenses, which means more money would have to be raised for phase two. 

Happel said his services extended $15,000 over contract, not including the additional $20,000. On the upside, Boomerang was $7,600 under contract for the final work that was completed. 

“You have a little savings on the actual construction,” he said. 

The board asked if the committee was in favor of the motion to approve the change order. The committee felt there was nothing else they could do. 

“We’re not pleased, but we can’t keep spinning out wheels,” said Hatcher. 

“This has been an expensive lesson,” said Oswald. 

McQuillen said while they could take legal action, it would end up costing more in the long run. 

With the closeout, this also releases the $30,000 in retainage held by the county. 

Happel also informed the board that he plans to submit the Wapsi Trail project to the state for an award. 

“There were some unique things done with this project,” he praised. “And I’ve never worked with such an active trail committee like this.”