Council approves $79,356 change order for new police station; staff says project remains on budget

Canyon Lake — The City Council approved a $79,356 change order for construction of the new police station during the consent calendar after a staff presentation explaining the unplanned costs.

City Manager Aaron Brown (presenting for the item) and project staff described several unforeseen issues encountered during construction, including relocation of air handlers to preserve structural integrity for a Level-4 (secure) facility, specialized filtered exhaust requirements that exceeded standard fixtures, and degraded weep-screed that required repair. Brown said the city’s change-order authority extends to $100,000 but staff chose to bring the item forward “in the interest of transparency.”

Brown summarized the accounting for the project and said, “we were within $19,000 of building this thing exactly to specification,” characterizing the increase as a result of accelerated timelines and design-level surprises rather than contractor error.

Council members asked for clarification on contingency and savings elsewhere; staff said procurement negotiations and equipment-savings efforts helped offset some costs. Following discussion the council moved, seconded and approved the consent calendar — including the change order — in a unanimous roll-call vote.

What happens next: Staff will continue close oversight of remaining change orders and return routine construction updates to the council as the project proceeds to completion.