fox6now.com

At Monday’s Public Works committee meeting, the committee voted unanimously to approve the change order for the project regarding the underground storage tank at the Kenosha Engine Plant (KEP), 5500 – 30th Avenue.  Shelly Billingsley, the city’s engineering director, spoke on the issue.  “This is due to mobilization costs and not having access to the site.  The change order is to change the funding for mobility.  We took out the asphalt cap, and are going to enter into a separate contract to pour a concrete cap instead.”  The city approved a contract with New Berlin’s Veit and Co. for $258,000 in August to remove that tank.

The change order approved on Monday moves the timeline for removing the tank.  Work is to begin on or before November 9th, and it is to be completed by December 25th.  The work was originally intended to start in August and be completed by now.  The reason for the delay in getting this work done was due to Veit and Co. and its contractors struggling to get access to the site from the Old Carco Liquidation Trust due to specific requirements needed to get access.

Matt Knight, deputy city attorney, was also present at the meeting and spoke.  “This is part of the KEP site grants for clean-up.  We have a heard deadline here.  We have until the end of the year to complete the work.”  Knight said that four work weeks were needed.

Knight said that the issues regarding access were worked out today between the trust and the city.  There was one word that had to be changed, “Liquidated” to “Liquidation” Trust.  “Two of the four agreements have been returned already,” he said.  Also, the new dates need to be included.

Billingsley said that they were spending less with the change in materials for the cap.  Vice Chairman and Alderperson Jan Michalski asked about the concrete being less expensive than asphalt.  He wanted to know if the weather would affect the work.  Billingsley said that it is just the cap, a temporary fix, not a slab for the building.  “It should suffice for environmental concerns,” she said.  Billingsley said that they prefer asphalt, but with the time constraints, they won’t get it done in time.  Therefore, it was removed from the contractor’s contract.

Mike Lemens, the public works director, said that a “thermal blanket would be enough to keep it from freezing.  It doesn’t have to do with the expense, but the availability.  It’s now out of the contract.  City crews will be doing the work.  The timing is more critical than the cost,” he said.

Knight said that Veit and Co. would be in breach of contract if work goes past December 25th.  “Believe me, they want to finish this as quickly as they can, too,” Knight said.

The change order contained the removal of $33,444 for the cap, with a net decrease to the work order of $6,333.78.  The vote was 5 to 0 to approve the change order.

The former Kenosha Engine Plant is located in Alderperson’s Patrick Juliana’s district.