RAPID CITY - City officials have been told the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center addition could be delayed for up to a year if a $250,000 change order for some structural modifications is not approved today during a special city council meeting.

The agenda for the special meeting, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. today at city hall, includes the change order and discussion with the city attorney about the contract with enVision Design.

Mayor Jim Shaw said he learned Tuesday morning that an independent review of the design requested by contractor Sampson Construction indicated $250,000 is needed for changes to the superstructure of the building.

Although the change order is ready, if it isn't made final today, the project could be delayed for as much as a year, Shaw said.

"It seems completely outlandish, but that's what we were told," Shaw said Tuesday evening. "In my opinion, we should sue enVision Design for this money and for malpractice, or whatever the term is. We had the huge brouhaha over the $7 million 'oops', and this is way more than an 'oops.'"

Fred Thurston of enVision Design said the fabricators of the trusses recommended that the connections be re-evaluated, and enVision agreed that angles, plates and bolts need to be added.

Changes come up on any project, Thurston said, and that is why a certain amount of money is kept in reserve as a contingency. On this project, the city has a 3 percent contingency. The proposed change order, although large, is for about 1 percent of the project's cost if the entire $250,000 is needed.

"This happens to be coming up early in the project, but it's part of those items that contingencies are built into projects for," Thurston said.

Last October, after the initial bids for the addition came in $7 million higher than earlier estimates, one of the changes to try to lower the cost was to use bolted beams instead of welded beams.

Shaw said it is his understanding that enVision didn't change the design when it should have, and to get back on track there is a $250,000 change order, though he is not sure exactly what that represents.

The problem was discovered after the contractor, Sampson Construction, as part of normal practice, got an independent review of the superstructure design before ordering steel beams. Essentially, the contractor asked if the project was ready to move forward, and the third-party consultant said no, according to Shaw.

"In my opinion, this is scandalous. Absolutely outrageous," Shaw said. "The professional firm that will receive approximately $1.5 million from the city by the time this whole thing is done has allowed this to happen."

Shaw said the city council will discuss what to do, but he believes it is important to hold the firm accountable. Considering all of the scrutiny that the project has received, Shaw said he is stunned about this development.

"First of all, we want to get an answer why it's so urgent that it be approved (today) or it will be delayed a year. It seems illogical to me," he said.

Thurston said the firm is asking the city to authorize the change order up to a maximum of $250,000. The exact cost would be determined later, but he doesn't think it will be for the maximum. Still, a decision needs to be made quickly so the steel can be ordered without delaying the project, Thurston said.

"There is a slot to get steel fabricated to meet the timeframe and keep the civic center on schedule," he said. "They only make some of these materials once a year, and we're slotted to get into that rotation, but they have to be approved by the end of the day."

Thurston believes the change order is being made more of an issue than it really presents and is not out of the norm for a project this size.

"Steel is the biggest component of this project. It's $6 million of this project," he said. "It is a lot of money, but on the scale of what all the steel is, it's not outlandish."

When the project was re-bid, the cost was reduced by about $1 million by redesigning the trusses. In light of the change order, Thurston wonders if the original design should have remained.

"We're working to do the best job for the city we possibly can," he said.

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com