Board of Public Works Meeting – April 23, 2026: Bids, Change Order, and Committee Updates
Board of Public Works Meeting – April 23, 2026
The Board of Public Works of Waukesha, Wisconsin, convened on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at 5:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. Members present: Kevin Riley, Joe Piper, and Eileen Micklitz. The meeting covered approvals of minutes and payments, review of three bids received, a contract change order for the Library HVAC project, and updates on upcoming bid notices and a local construction project.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (April 9, 2026): Motion by Ms. Piper, seconded, passed 3–0.
- Approval of Payments: Motion by Ms. Piper, seconded, passed 3–0. During discussion, staff clarified that funds for the South Street Ramp project (a 2025 project continuing into 2026) covered structural repairs, removal of glass block replaced with concrete block, and window/door replacement with Lexan (high-impact-resistant polymer).
Public Comments & Testimony
No members of the public offered comments.
Discussion Items
- Bid: Fire Station #5 HVAC Improvements (Rebid) – Three bids received; low bid from Helm Mechanical for $42,107. The bid was within the amended budget of $43,000 (funds transferred by administrator & finance director). Staff confirmed Helm Mechanical had previously worked for the city and references checked out. The rebid was necessary because the initial bid exceeded budget; the project was repackaged to fit the 2026 budget, deferring remaining work to a future year. Motion to approve passed 3–0.
- Bid: W. Sunset Dr. and Barstow St. Bridge Sealing and Rehabilitation – Two bids received; staff recommended NORCON Corporation's bid of $255,585.50 (base bid plus alternates) within the $300,000 budget. NORCON had completed similar work for the city. Motion to approve passed 3–0.
- Bid: Deer Trails and Fox Lake Village Pump Station Improvements – This bid was held because it came in slightly over the $277,000 budget. Staff stated they would confirm fund transfers from another project and bring the matter back at the next meeting.
- Contract Change Order No. 1 – Library HVAC Replacement Project (Lee Mechanical) – The change order, totaling just over $30,000, covered four additional work items discovered during construction: dampers, relief hoods, tying in the park bathroom (connected to the library HVAC), and ceiling temperature monitoring control panels. The project aimed to consolidate three different HVAC control systems into one building automation system. During discussion, board members questioned why the park bathroom tie-in (installed 3–4 years ago) wasn't originally scoped; staff explained that the existing setup was inefficient (exhaust air from conference rooms constantly dumped into bathrooms, bypassing unit heaters). The change order was approved 3–0.
- Matter of Report / Communications and Referrals: Staff announced upcoming bid notices closing May 8, 2026, for three projects: Greenway Terrace Playground Resilient Surface, Prairie Park and Banting Park Facility Upgrades, and 2026 Sanitary Sewer Lining.
- Prospect Avenue Construction Update: In response to a question from the board, staff reported that despite encountering more poor soils than expected and a week of heavy rain, the project remains on schedule. Sidewalk removals on Bidwell will begin soon, and the contractor has completed underground work ahead of target.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes and Payments approved (3–0).
- Fire Station #5 HVAC bid awarded to Helm Mechanical ($42,107) (3–0).
- W. Sunset/Barstow Bridge bid awarded to NORCON Corporation ($255,585.50) (3–0).
- Deer Trails/Fox Lake Pump Station bid held pending fund transfer approval.
- Library HVAC Change Order No. 1 approved (just over $30,000) (3–0).
- The board acknowledged and thanked outgoing member Alderman Eric Payne for over 20 years of service on the Board (informal recognition).
- The board welcomed new member Alderperson Eileen Micklitz to her first meeting.
The meeting adjourned without formal vote; all business completed.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, this is the Thursday, April 23rd, 2026 meeting of the Board of Public Works. And I'm gonna make a call to order. Kevin Riley present. Joe Piper. Eileen McLitz. And seeing we do not have anybody here for public comment. Uh what happened to our um allegiance? Yeah, what our pledge of allegiance isn't there. That's crazy. Yeah. Pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to Republican for which it stands one nation. Under MATA indivisible with liberty and justice for all. That threw me. That was things were out of order. You can tell Judy's on vacation. Keeping you on your toes, Kevin. So the next order of business is the approval of minutes from April 9th, 2026. Do we have a motion? Mrs. Piper, I'll make a motion to approve the minutes. A second. We have a first and a second. Any discussion or questions? Seeing none. Take a vote. Kevin Rayleigh, aye. Piper aye. Mick Litz aye. And moving on to approval of payments. None of them are final payments, but uh you have any questions on those, Brandon, or I'll try to answer. This is Piper. I'll make a motion to approve payments with a second. I have a question. Kevin Riley seconds. Can guys can you remind me or remind us what we're doing with the South Street ramp this year? Is this more of the joint stuff than so this was actually the yeah, it was bid out last year. It was a 25 project that continued on into the spring of this year into 26. But yes, it was primarily um we had some beam repair, some other concrete repair items kind of on the vertical on multiple floors. I guess Joe, you can jump in whenever you want to. Um, but really concrete structure structural repairs on the lower floors, and we worked our way up some of the exposed beams, some of the we had some spalling, some rebar exposure that we you know cleaned up, did full repair there, and are kind of working our way up towards the top floor. Plus, we did previously approve that change order to remove the glass block on the top story, replace that with concrete block, and replace some of the windows up there on the on the top floor as well. Okay, that's Brandon. Thank you. And I that's what I was driving as. I thought we were gonna knock out some of that old barn glass there towards the top. And that is all complete, yes. Yeah, so if you're interested, drive up to the third floor, it looks a lot nicer. So this is the third floor on South Street or the third floor on Wisconsin side. Probably it's the entire like on the top floor where we had glass block.
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