The City Council considered this change order at its October 28 meeting, tabled it until November 12 and requested additional information about the reasons for the change order and its cost. Change Order 1 is for $10,547 and has four (4) categories of work. There are about 600 lighting fixtures in City Hall. Because of the age of the building and the number of remodels that have been done over the years, there are several types of fixtures and all had been converted to electronic ballasts. About 30 of them had "quick start" ballasts that were incompatible with the new, lower wattage lamps. The project engineer inspected fixtures in random locations but none of these ballasts were discovered in the sample. When the contractor installed new lamps, the quick start ballasts burned out the bulbs over 2-3 weeks. Those ballasts and bulbs must be replaced and the cost is $2,817. An additional dozen fixtures did not work when the contractor installed new lamps. Those ballasts must also be changed but there is no re-lamping cost, so the total cost is $1,204. Staff believes that the cost to test all ballasts prior to bidding or lamp installation would have exceeded the $4,000 cost of these changes.

The contractor found thirteen (13) emergency exit lights that have incandescent lighting. They must be LED fixtures to qualify for the NWE rebate. Whether identified for replacement in the specifications or identified by the contractor, the City is obligated to install and pay for them in order meet code and to obtain the $92,000 NWE rebate.  The total cost is $3,510. The final category is work that customized lighting and motion sensor installations for the specific locations and office occupants. For example, a wall switch and motion sensor might have been specified, but in practice, would not function well because office furniture interferes with it. A ceiling sensor will work better in this office. There are fourteen (14) of these changes and the cost for this work is $3,016. Sensors that were removed after installation and replaced will be kept as stock for future replacements.

There are no viable alternatives to changing ballasts, lamps and emergency lighting if the City wants to adequately light its work spaces and qualify for the $92,000 NWE rebate. The customizations may be discretionary but if they aren't performed, the lighting will not work as efficiently or effectively. LED exit signs are required by the 2009 IECC.

The work was engineered and estimated to cost $81,000 but the low bid was $46,698.30. The total cost for Change Order 1 is $10,547, making the total project cost $57,245. The Council committed $81,000 of General Fund money for the project, so almost $24,000 will be unspent and will remain in the General Fund. The source of the money was excess in the SID Revolving Loan Fund that was transferred to the General Fund.

Staff recommends that the City Council approve Change Order 1 for the City Hall Lighting Retrofit project, Action Electric and for a total of $10,547.