§ 3.08.070. Capital improvement projects.

A.

Definition. A capital improvement project shall be defined as new construction of capital assets and improvements to previously constructed capital assets. The rule on emergency situations as provided for under Section 3.08.040 shall also apply for capital improvement projects.

B.

Capital improvement projects of twenty-five thousand dollars or less may be performed by city employees by force account, by negotiated contracts or by purchase order.

C.

The expenditure of funds for capital improvements shall follow the same bidding thresholds as provided for in Section 3.08.030.

D.

Where the city council is asked to approve plans and specifications and authorized to call for bids, the department head and the city engineer shall prepare an agenda report to the city manager, who then takes the matter to the city council, requesting these actions. The request shall include identification of the unencumbered funding source for the project, based on the estimated project cost. The request shall include a bid opening date, which shall be approved by the city clerk.

E.

City council approval is required for all plans and specifications for capital improvements prepared by the city engineer. If the project involves federal or state dollars, the department shall observe federal and state statutes regarding the bidding process and selection of vendors.

F.

The sealed bids shall be received by the city clerk who shall be responsible for publicly opening and reading sealed bids at the stipulated time. Once the bids have been opened, the department head shall recommend award of the contract to the lowest responsible bidder. The department head or his/her designee shall prepare an agenda report and present it to the city manager who will then present it to the city council.

G.

Upon approval by the city council, the contract package shall be forwarded to the department which shall obtain signatures from the contractor, city attorney and the mayor. The city clerk shall retain the original contract.

H.

Upon city council award of the contract, the city clerk shall prepare a resolution noting the city council's approval of the contract, project name, cost and budget account numbers. The approved resolution shall be submitted to the finance department to record the encumbrance. The department head shall be responsible for monitoring the project account balance during the course of the project to ensure that overages do not occur.

I.

Change Orders. During the course of the capital improvement project, modifications to the scope of work may be required that was not anticipated in advance. The city council must approve capital improvement change orders where the cumulative total exceeds ten percent of the original contract amount, or the individual change order is more than twenty-five thousand dollars prior to initiating the work when possible in all cases, prior to the payment of additional cost. Change orders equating to less than ten percent of the original contract amount and under twenty-five thousand dollars may be approved by the city manager upon recommendation by the department head and finance director. A change order that causes the project to go over the approved budget may be approved by the city manager, as long as additional funds are taken from savings from another project in the same fund. All other change orders for capital improvement projects must be approved by the city council. The instances that require city council approval include change orders that:

1.

Cause the project to go over budget;

2.

Require transfers between funds and reserves;

3.

Require transfers between accounts, but from projects that have not yet experienced savings.

(Ord. 1146 §1(part), 2006).