City Council Approves Third Cost Increase for Downtown Garage Project, Bringing Total to $3.9 Million — Photo: Haruhi8 — CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
City Council Approves Third Cost Increase for Downtown Garage Project, Bringing Total to $3.9 Million
Fresno City Council on June 18, 2026, approved an additional $83,886.57 for the Garage 9 Renovation Project downtown, bringing the total contract with Katch Environmental Incorporated to $3,892,302.81 — 12.4% above the original $3.46 million award in January 2025.
The approval, passed on consent calendar without separate discussion, marks the third change order since the city awarded the contract in January 2025. Change Order No. 01 added $203,438.20; Change Order No. 02 added $142,699.04; this third order adds $83,886.57 plus 26 working days to the timeline.
The staff report, signed by Capital Projects Director Denix D. Anbiah and Planning Director Jennifer K. Clark, states the increase will “support the continued progress of the Project” and “allow for the completion of the necessary improvements.” The report does not itemize what work the $83,886.57 covers, nor does it explain why three rounds of additions totaling $430,023.81 were required after the original bid.
Katch Environmental Incorporated, doing business as Katch General, is based in Fresno. The contract falls under Council District 3.
The Breakdown
- Original contract awarded January 9, 2025: $3,462,279.00
- Change Order No. 01: +$203,438.20
- Change Order No. 02: +$142,699.04
- Change Order No. 03 (this approval): +$83,886.57, plus 26 additional working days
- New total: $3,892,302.81
What This Means for You
This is the third time since January 2025 the city has increased what taxpayers are paying for this project, with no public explanation of why the original bid fell short by more than $430,000. City Council approved this increase on consent — meaning no separate discussion, no questions asked. The cumulative change orders now represent 12.4% of the original contract value.
What to Watch
The staff report offers no breakdown of what the $83,886.57 buys, and the city has not published a line-item accounting of the three change orders totaling $430,023.81. The public has no way to assess value-for-money or accountability when the explanation amounts to “continued progress” and “necessary improvements.”
Katch Environmental Incorporated is the sole beneficiary of this contract and its three increases. The material does not state whether this contractor was the low bidder in the original procurement, whether the city solicited competitive bids for the change-order work, or whether any performance issues contributed to the timeline extensions.
The 26-day timeline extension in this change order alone suggests either the original schedule was unrealistic or the added work is substantial enough to require nearly a month more on-site. Either way, the variance between what was promised and what’s being delivered is material, and the city has offered no accounting for it.
Watch the project’s final cost when it closes out — three change orders since January 2025 is a trajectory, not a conclusion. Voters should ask their District 3 representative and the full council why this project couldn’t hold to its original budget and timeline, and what controls are in place to prevent the same outcome on the next capital project.
