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Saturday, May 25, 2013
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Bid puts brakes on sidewalks
by Rick DeClue · News · June 29, 2012
The Orange Street-to-Middle School sidewalk project might not get done before school starts in August — the low bid turned out to be 15 to 20 percent higher than estimates.
This caused the West Branch City Council to hesitate Monday when it heard the figures and, after an hour-long discussion, they decided to table the project for now.
The council stressed that the project will be completed and will be done right, however, it is not likely to be completed by the time school starts in August.
City Administrator Matt Muckler said the construction part of the project was expected to cost between $65,000 and $75,000.
The lowest bid of $86,158 came from Eastern Iowa Excavating and Concrete.
Out of 60 to 70 bid packages sent out by the city’s engineer, Veenstra & Kimm, only two bids were received. Muckler said that he was disappointed by the bid results because the city’s recent experience on several projects had actually come in lower than projected.
If the lowest construction bid was accepted, the total project cost would be $97,538, including engineering. The West Branch School District has committed $11,500 to this project. While the city can cover the remaining costs, doing so in the face of this higher-than-projected bid would impact other projects planned for the 2013 fiscal year.
Muckler said Tuesday that the city council will gather in a special meeting to formally reject the bids and decide how it will proceed.
Public Works Director Matt Goodale suggested that his department could do some of the work in-house, but not this summer.
School Superintendent Kevin Hatfield said Tuesday that it would be “wonderful” if the project could get done, but “we’ll manage” if it does not.
“It’s such a great project,” he said. “We’ll work with the city. This benefits the school and we appreciate that it’s on their docket.”
Hatfield said he understands that bids can surprise.
“Look at the fifth-grade (renovation project),” he said. “We thought that would cost $108,000 to $110,000, but it came in between $118,000 and $120,000. You never can get it exactly perfect.”
Dave Schechinger of V&K said the low number of responses may reflect several issues. Contractors may be looking at more opportunities due to the economy and the good weather conditions so far during this construction season. There is a short window to complete the work before the school year starts. In addition, the project contains numerous elements like underground plumbing, grading, drainage concrete and asphalt work in relatively small quantities.
Council member Mark Worrell, who runs an excavation business, said the project may simply be too big for a small contractor and too small for a large one.
The council considered several options to move forward with the possibility of lowering the project costs.
They discussed separating the middle school project into parts, for example, by proceeding with the sidewalk construction while delaying the road work. Schechinger said this may be possible, but it could require additional work due to the locations of the proposed sidewalk and new road bed. He also pointed out that there is no guarantee that future bids to complete any delayed work would be lower.
Another option would be combining the middle school project with other planned improvements, such as the sidewalks on Oliphant Street or additional paving on North Downey Street.
Muckler said that completing the middle school project before the school year starts probably requires a decision in the next week. Council members said this is unlikely given the need to have both the city and the school board in agreement. The council also decided that the delay may be necessary to try to achieve the desired result at a lower cost. |
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