City Engineer updates Board of Public Works on Gibson St. and Harrison St. multi-use trail

Monday, July 7, 2025 at 2:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

At the recent Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety meeting, City Engineer Dan Sellers provided an update to members on the Harrison Street Multi-Use Path.

The Sisco Group requested a waiver of the financial guarantee for a Phase II environmental hazardous materials study involving four borings in the street in front of Plymouth Foundry on Harrison Street. Sellers stated that the borings would be approximately three feet deep and would be conducted using a hand auger.

The city engineer stated that in the past, the city has waived financial guarantees, particularly in this case, because the city is the client; therefore, the city would be paying a financial guarantee to itself.

Board member Dave Morrow said he assumed the contractor paid the financial guarantee fees.

Sellers said they do pay it, but they charge the client, and for this project, the city is the client. When the job is complete, the bond is given back to the contractor, not the client.

Mayor Listenberger said this is part of the engineering fees the city is paying for the trail project, and the additional cost of the financial guarantee would be passed along to the city since we are the customer.

Board member Duane Culp motioned to waive the financial guarantee, and member Shiloh Milner seconded his motion. The board voted 3 to 2 to waive the financial guarantee. Board members Don Ecker and Dave Morrow voted against the motion.

The second item the city engineer brought forward was the amount of a change order for Gibson Street. The project would remove the section of asphalt in front of 309 Gibson Street, The Pointe, and replace it with topsoil and grass, along with a sidewalk with ADA-compliant crosswalks to Kingston Road.

The cost of the change order is $23,738. INDOT informed the city engineer that any amount exceeding the contract amount of $1,198,224 would be the city’s responsibility.

Sellers told Board of Public Works members there is some built-in cushion for unknowns in the project. The contractor is willing to wait till close to the end of the project to see if funding is available to complete this change order.

The City Engineer requested approval to undertake additional work if extra funds are available or if the city needs to draw on reserves to complete the project. The Board of Public Works and Safety unanimously approved funding the change order.