Two change orders total nearly $8,000 for county garages

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

County commissioners unanimously authorized a change order for the Pelican Rapids Highway Garage in the amount of $247.50 for the addition of an electrical outlet and a change order for both the Battle Lake and Pelican Rapids Highway Garages in the amount of $7,540.50 for piping waterproof jackets.

A change order is a written amendment to an existing contract after the effective date that alters the work, the contract sum or the contract time. While contracts are intended to be the final word for projects, sometimes things need to change.

GeoPermits contract

A motion by County Commissioner Lee Rogness of Fergus Falls and seconded by Commissioner Bob Lahman of Parkers Prairie was unanimously carried to authorize appropriate county officials’ signatures for the contract between Otter Tail County and GeoPermits.

This covers the development of a user-friendly web-based permitting software system for the county Land and Resource Department. County board action will benefit multiple Otter Tail County departments as well as the public for a bid of $56,000 over the next two years.

Letter of support

County commissioners authorized Otter Tail County to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy in support of Pelican Rapids-based Lake Region Electric Cooperative’s Wind/Solar Hybrid Project for the addition of 100 12kW residential batteries.

The batteries will provide resiliency to the power grid, result in cost savings and enable the storage of renewable energy for use when the wind/solar hybrid facility’s production is low.