Board Votes to Raise Splash Station Contingency Fund

With the contingency fund for Splash Station, Wentzville's new aquatic center project, down to about $30,000, the Wentzville Board of Aldermen have voted to increase the amount of money available for change orders and overruns.

The issue came up during the July 24 meeting when Public Works Director Susan Mueller brought up five separate contractor changes that totaled $22,768.

Procurement Director Jerry Hillin said that other contingency amounts had generally been set at 15 percent of the total cost, but that the board had decided that 8 percent should be standard.

The original contingency for the Splash Station project had been set at only 4.3 percent of the entire project cost. Mueller asked that the contingency be raised to 8 percent.

The aquatic center construction costs dipped into the contingency funds almost from the beginning, when unexpected rock was found, forcing additional expenditures for excavation.

The increase in the contingency raises the total amount to $468,000. 

The board approved the change, but some members wanted to know immediately how that would affect the entire project.

"What are we cutting out?" Alderman Cheryl Kross said. She asked if items like landscaping, shade elements, sidewalks or driveways could be deferred for a year.

Alderman Rick Stokes said that the cuts should be made to one of the other parks—Heartland or Peruque Valley—that have not yet been started.

City Administrator Mike McDowell said, "It’s our intention to keep change orders to a minimum." He said that the board should also remember that there would be a savings in operations since the park would not be open in 2013 and those funds had already been budgeted.