SHULLSBURG—Two change orders for the city garage project were discussed by the Shullsburg City Council on Dec. 21.
A change order for boring under Co. O instead of cutting and replacing the highway for the water and sewer main is anticipated to cost an additional $1,500. Mayor Tom Lethlean said an additional $1,670 to $1,770 was anticipated if cutting through the highway because of requests to refill the hole with clean stone and replace the blacktop with a temporary patch until a permanent one is placed in the spring.
Lethlean said hopefully there won’t be any continuous patching or settling by choosing the boring option. If the water main breaks in the future, it is encased in a sleeve that can be removed without digging through the roadway. 
“It kind of sounds to me as if they found out that it’s going to be $1,500 to bore underneath it [the highway], so let’s make it a little bit harder… so it would be easier now to add $1,500 on to the project,” alderman Dan Spillane said. “I guess the project was bid out at a certain price and now they’re telling us more.”
Lethlean said the project engineer Bart Nies of Delta 3 Engineering told the council that they shouldn’t pay any more to do the boring if they decide to pursue that option. Now, two weeks later, Nies is recommending the change order for the boring be approved because it’s the better option.
Alderman Carl Ballard said the patching option wouldn’t last long with all of the truck traffic on Co. O.
“It’s not much here, but $500 for the other permit wasn’t much, this isn’t much, but when all of a sudden you start putting all of these things together, these little things here and there start to add up to be a lot,” Spillane said.
The motion was made and seconded by aldermen Darrel Morrissey and Jim Paquette. It passed with Spillane voting against.
The second change order was for changes to the storm water retention pond.
Lethlean said a representative of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources questioned the physical characteristics of the soil and how rapidly the water would disperse into the soil.
“To comply with him, we now have to increase the size of the retention pond that was in the plans,” Lethlean said. “That carries the price tag… of $2,825.”
The DNR has requested that the city change the design to increase the volume for the retention pond.
“We had it designed as such to comply and once this [DNR] individual got involved, it’s not a clear science on the soil type to determine how fast water will penetrate the surface,” Lethlean said. “Delta 3 put in one factor; he [the representative of the DNR] is fresh out of school and put in another factor. The project is underway and I wish I could say who is accountable for this, but I don’t know what to tell you.”
Spillane asked that the change order be tabled to allow the engineer to attend a meeting and explain the situation to the council.
“If I say yes to another $2,800, I want to know why it wasn’t engineered right the first time,” Spillane said. “This project is getting bigger and bigger.”
Lethlean said the change order will be revisited at the Jan. 4 meeting.

Casino update
The council participated in a meeting with the state Department of Administration in Madison on Dec. 20 to discuss the plans for a Lac du Flambeau casino and hotel in Shullsburg.
Lethlean said there were many ways to interpret what was discussed but overall the project sounds promising.
“I think it’s doable,” Lethlean said. “We didn’t come out with anything more than a verbal statement of support from Gov. [Scott] Walker that if we meet this criteria and focus on the four points that he would support the project if those four points were fulfilled.”
Lethlean said the tribe’s next step is to travel to Washington D.C. to meet with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to work on getting a portion of the tribe’s property into the trust.
Spillane said one of the points that was brought up is that the county is the largest employer in Lafayette County.
“I feel we need more jobs,” Spillane said.
Ballard said the number of potential jobs was increased.
“If they can get it done in Washington, I think we can get it done in Madison,” Morrissey said. “There’s community support and our legislators realize that. I just wish we were further along with the process.”