Katy City Council members met in a special meeting for about eight minutes Monday evening to take care of city business before the holiday break.

During the meeting, council members approved all items on their agenda unanimously, including a nearly $8,000 change to the Riceland Terrace drainage project.

“This change order is for the switching of a concrete roadway surface at the intersection of Caloro (Lane) and Patna (Drive) to an asphalt roadway surface,” said Joshua Netardus of Costello Engineering, the city’s drainage planning consultant. “This came about with a field meeting I had with a former project manager who is no longer here and the engineer for the Fortuna (Drive) project.”

The change order was implemented to allow for the installation of a new water line at the intersection of Patna Drive and Caloro Lane where water will be directed from the subdivision into the city’s drainage system that flows through the Town Park Detention Pond. The asphalt surface will be installed on the eastern side of the intersection temporarily until the water line is ready to be installed. Once that is completed, a concrete roadway will replace the asphalt, Netardus said. He added that using asphalt will allow the roadway to be used in the interim and that the asphalt will save money because it is easier to remove and replace than concrete.

The total cost for the project as of this most recent change order is slightly more than $4 million.

Council also authorized the mayor to sign an extension with Cooley Construction, LLC., the contractor doing the work on the Riceland Terrace Downstream Channel Improvement project. The extension will not cost any additional city money but will provide 61 additional days to the construction team to finish the project after delays caused by inclement weather accumulated over the course of the project.

Council members also:

• Approved a plat for the new Katy ISD elementary school being built in the Cane Island subdivision. The district has previously indicated that the new campus will help prevent overcrowding at Katy and Bryant elementary schools.
• Approved multiple plats for the Cane Island and Katy Court subdivisions.

The next Katy City Council regular meeting is set for Dec. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at Katy City Hall – 901 Avenue C, Katy.