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Drawbacks: • The Contractor believes unforeseen conditions exist and they should not be responsible for the repair. The City could end up in litigation to resolve who is responsible for the cost of the correction. • Delay completion of the street project. • Impacts to existing utilities and access to residents north of Kohlman Court. The reason the work was being completed as a directional bore was due to the tight site conditions. • With the contiguous pipe that is used for directional drilling there is a possibility of moving the sag up or downstream as the original sag is addressed. Extended Bond Another option that was discussed was the Contractor supplying an extended bond for the sanitary sewer line. As discussed a 5-year $200,000.00 bond would be provided to provide insurance that the Contractor would complete repair of the sag in the line if problems occur for the first 5 years. From that point on the City would assume responsibility for the line. Benefits: • Project can be completed as scheduled. • No further utility impacts or access issues at this time. • No cost to the City at this time or if problems occur within the life of the bond. Drawbacks: • The City would assume responsibility for the line after the 5 year period with the existing sag. • The line may require additional maintenance to ensure it functions properly. Recommendation Based on our experience and in talking with City and Maplewood maintenance staff, the existence of the 2" sag in the line does not represent a large concern for the functionality of the sanitary sewer line. There is approximately 5.5 feet of grade difference between one end of the line to the other and there are no service connections. The greatest risk of backup or buildup problems within the sag area will be when only a few homes are connected to the line and flows are limited. The 5-year bond would provide the City with sufficient time to review the operation of the line during the low flow conditions and determine if a problem does exist. If it is determined that the sag presents a problem that should be corrected the bond will cover the repair costs. Obtaining a bond would also eliminate the possible legal implications that may likely result if action to correct the sag is taken at this time. Therefore, we would recommend that the City authorize staff to pursue obtaining the 5-year bond from the Contractor and allow the maintenance staff an opportunity to determine if a problem exists prior to expending further City funds on the pt•oject. It would be good practice to complete a yearly inspection and jetting/cleaning of the line similar to other "hot spot" areas within the City at least until the functionality of the line is determined.