LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz — The $3.3 million projected price tag for a Lake Havasu City erosion-control project may grow by $100,000 because of expenses largely resulting from a need to remove an underground nesting area of a protected species of owls.
Today's News-Herald reports that the City Council will vote Wednesday whether to pay the money, most as compensation to the contractor for wash-stabilization work delayed for months by the nest's discovery and by a need to replace a utility pole not buried deep enough.
State and federal regulations require pausing construction near burrows of Western Burrowing Owls until a licensed relocator moves the owls, which was done.
Deputy City Engineer Jeremy Abbott said a survey found no indication of owls in project area during planning but that some moved in during the contracting stage.
