American Fork to weigh $312,134 more for Dixie Well after drillers hit unstable gravel

Drilling American Fork's Dixie Well would cost $312,134.25 more under a change order up for a vote Nov. 10, after the driller hit a void in unstable, gravelly soil. ^[1]

A city staff report calls the void an unforeseeable subsurface condition. Hydro Resources - Rocky Mountain, Inc. holds the drilling contract, dated July 8, 2026, at $2,327,733. The council approved a $200,000 construction and engineering contingency with the award. Bowen Collins & Associates is the project engineer. ^[1]

Staff say drilling on with the current rotary rig would make the site unstable and unsafe. Under the proposed change order, the rotary rig would leave the site while a subcontractor extends the steel surface casing, and a cable tool rig would drill from about 116 feet to about 185 feet. That method sets steel casing while it removes the drill cuttings, which keeps the hole stable. The change order calls for 28-inch casing, the widest that fits inside the existing 30-inch surface casing. ^[1]

After that, the rotary rig would return and drill to the design depth of 1,300 feet. The change order would raise the contract price to $2,639,867.25 and add 56 days, moving substantial completion to Feb. 1, 2027. The well is paid for with culinary water impact fees, the report says. Staff recommend approval. ^[1]

Budget changes on the same agenda

The council is also set to hold a public hearing and vote on amendments to the budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2027. Staff say most of the changes carry forward project money left unspent last year or reflect council actions since the budget passed, and that fund reserves cover every capital item. ^[1]

The largest is $3.24 million in the culinary water fund, nearly all drawn from fund balance, for carryover work that includes the 200 South and 300 West roundabout, the Main Street waterline from 200 West to Grant Avenue and Country Club Well repairs. The roads fund would add about $1.1 million from its reserves, including $140,000 more for a new street light maintenance contract and the 2026 overlay of 1100 North, Kawakami Drive and 860 East. The road impact fee fund would carry forward $810,240 for the roundabout. ^[1]

The fire impact fee fund would put $254,000 toward the temporary Fire Station 53: $179,000 carried forward from last year and $75,000 from reserves for added structural costs. Higher than expected fuel prices account for several smaller increases, including $101,000 in the fleet maintenance fund. ^[1]

A separate item would move $11,147.80 in leftover 2025 PARC tax money from the Robinson Park pavilion to cover cost overruns on the Rotary Park baseline project. The remaining $32,922.50 in net unspent 2025 grants would go to Beehive Park for concrete work and fencing, bringing its project, which includes a $107,623 restroom, to $212,072.50 with its $179,150 award for 2026. ^[1]

The agenda also includes a hearing and vote on giving up a 0.016-acre strip of city right of way at about 10 West 1200 South. Staff say a boundary adjustment after the 2023 Deer Park South annexation left the strip jutting into land owned by Timpview Logistics Center LLC, and the planned road would shift south. ^[1]

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 31 North Church Street, and includes a 20-minute public comment period. ^[1]

Planning commission hearings Nov. 18

American Fork's planning commission has set two public hearings for Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m. One is on rezoning about 18.6 acres at about 1000 South 200 West, known as the NBFF and JANFRAN Properties, from the R1-12,000 residential zone to the PR-3.0 planned residential zone for a conservation subdivision. The other is on a code change that would add grounds for denying, suspending or revoking massage business licenses. The commission makes recommendations to the council. ^[2]