Carefree Truth
Issue #582, July 30, 2017
Gary Neiss gave a brief recap of the tenant improvement project to take place at 33 Easy Street. This spring, local architect Mike Uhler and his design team created a plan to prepare the building for use as the new Council Chambers, while Mr. Neiss prepared a bid packet. The bid packet was paired with the plans and advertised. The slide in the video, starting at 1 minute, shows the plan.
The interior includes a large seating area for the audience, a dias that will be made of nice wood, a conference room, an additional storage area, and ADA compliant men's and ladies' rooms. Outside, an ADA compliant handycapped ramp will be added that will merge into the existing sidewalk, as well as a screening wall for 4 new HVAC condensers.
A pre-bid meeting was held in June and the bids opened on June 30th. 6 bids were received. The bids ranged from approximately $660,000 to approximately $360,000. 5 of the bids were within $23,000 of one another, pointing to the clarity of the bid documents and the understanding of the scope of work. The lowest responsible bidder was Kroll Construction, located in Tempe. According to the Registrar of Contractors, there are no disqualifying actions against them. The website Buildzoom, which rates contractors in Arizona, includes 72,000 contractors. Kroll Construction ranks in the top 12%.
Once the Council authorizes the funds and executes the Special Service contract, Kroll will sign a Notice of Award and post the bonds and insurance certificates. The Town will then issue a Notice to Proceed. This was expected to take place within the next 2 weeks. Completion is anticipated within a 90 day timeline from the Notice to Proceed, but additional lead time might be needed for items such as the "tile" carpet, which comes in pieces so, if there is a spill, only one piece has to be replaced instead of the entire carpet. This type of carpeting is standard now for places of public gatherings. The new Council Chambers should be ready in time for either the November or December meeting.
The estimate for the tenant improvements prior to the plan preparation and the bidding was $350,000, so the bid of $366,700 was relatively close. An addition 10% contingency to cover unknown circumstances that might arise was requested. The difference between the budgeted line item and the anticipated cost can be taken from the 2017/18 fiscal year contingency fund.
Councilman Mike Farrar asked if the $36,000 contingency being requested would be above the $366,700 bid. Mr. Neiss said it would be, adding that the contingency was requested by the staff, not the contractor. Mr. Farrar asked if, when Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are issued, contingencies were normally requested. Mr. Neiss replied no, just the actual dollar amounts are requested, but contingencies are customary for RFPs.
Councilman Gene Orrico asked for confirmation that the $366,700 plus the 10% contingency was a "not to exceed" number. Mr. Neiss confirmed that, and said they did not expect to have to use the contingency fund. But if it were needed and not available, the work would have to wait until the next regular Council meeting for the funds to be approved, delaying the project. Mr. Orrico noted that Mr. Neiss had been very thorough. He assumed with 5 of the 6 bidders so close together in price, the work included all the materials, not short circuiting anything. Keith Kroll, president of Kroll Contracting, said that all the specifications were very clear.
Councilman Jim Van Allen noted that the southwest side of the building contains very tall windows, and asked if they could be closed off. Mr. Neiss explained that the high windows will be partially screened by a dropped ceiling and the windows are tinted. Other windows have screens that can be dropped with the push of a button. Mr. Van Allen asked if there would be any drapes and was told there would not be. Mr. Neiss said the audio/video equipment to be used was tested with the video screens dropped in full daylight, and the screens were very viewable. Mr. Van Allen asked if the air conditioning would be adequate. Mr. Neiss assured him that with the 4 new AC units being plumbed in, the room would be cool within minutes. Mr. Van Allen asked for the total cost. Mr. Neiss said the building cost $407,000, the architect's fee was $18,000, and the tenant improvements are $366,700.
Mayor Les Peterson asked if there were any kind of contractor incentives for finishing on time or penalties for going beyond 120 days. Mr. Neiss explained that damages could be integrated into bid documents, but the Town would pay for that. "In projects of this scale, it would come back to us." The Mayor asked Mr. Kroll if he could foresee any reason that construction would run beyond the anticipated timeline. Mr. Kroll replied that, before the bid, an addendum was put in for an allowance for load bearing walls that are coming out because a plan is needed to deal with it, which could add time. The solution had not yet been confirmed by the architect. That was the only issue he could foresee. He felt 90 days was a doable schedule. Mr. Farrar asked if the plan would come from the architect or from a structural engineer. Mr. Kroll confirmed that it would come from a structural engineer and must be resolved before the project could commence.
With Vice Mayor John Crane absent, the Council voted 6-0 to approve the professional service contract with Kroll Construction.
https://vimeo.com/225421076
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.
Issue #582, July 30, 2017
Gary Neiss gave a brief recap of the tenant improvement project to take place at 33 Easy Street. This spring, local architect Mike Uhler and his design team created a plan to prepare the building for use as the new Council Chambers, while Mr. Neiss prepared a bid packet. The bid packet was paired with the plans and advertised. The slide in the video, starting at 1 minute, shows the plan.
The interior includes a large seating area for the audience, a dias that will be made of nice wood, a conference room, an additional storage area, and ADA compliant men's and ladies' rooms. Outside, an ADA compliant handycapped ramp will be added that will merge into the existing sidewalk, as well as a screening wall for 4 new HVAC condensers.
A pre-bid meeting was held in June and the bids opened on June 30th. 6 bids were received. The bids ranged from approximately $660,000 to approximately $360,000. 5 of the bids were within $23,000 of one another, pointing to the clarity of the bid documents and the understanding of the scope of work. The lowest responsible bidder was Kroll Construction, located in Tempe. According to the Registrar of Contractors, there are no disqualifying actions against them. The website Buildzoom, which rates contractors in Arizona, includes 72,000 contractors. Kroll Construction ranks in the top 12%.
Once the Council authorizes the funds and executes the Special Service contract, Kroll will sign a Notice of Award and post the bonds and insurance certificates. The Town will then issue a Notice to Proceed. This was expected to take place within the next 2 weeks. Completion is anticipated within a 90 day timeline from the Notice to Proceed, but additional lead time might be needed for items such as the "tile" carpet, which comes in pieces so, if there is a spill, only one piece has to be replaced instead of the entire carpet. This type of carpeting is standard now for places of public gatherings. The new Council Chambers should be ready in time for either the November or December meeting.
The estimate for the tenant improvements prior to the plan preparation and the bidding was $350,000, so the bid of $366,700 was relatively close. An addition 10% contingency to cover unknown circumstances that might arise was requested. The difference between the budgeted line item and the anticipated cost can be taken from the 2017/18 fiscal year contingency fund.
Councilman Mike Farrar asked if the $36,000 contingency being requested would be above the $366,700 bid. Mr. Neiss said it would be, adding that the contingency was requested by the staff, not the contractor. Mr. Farrar asked if, when Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are issued, contingencies were normally requested. Mr. Neiss replied no, just the actual dollar amounts are requested, but contingencies are customary for RFPs.
Councilman Gene Orrico asked for confirmation that the $366,700 plus the 10% contingency was a "not to exceed" number. Mr. Neiss confirmed that, and said they did not expect to have to use the contingency fund. But if it were needed and not available, the work would have to wait until the next regular Council meeting for the funds to be approved, delaying the project. Mr. Orrico noted that Mr. Neiss had been very thorough. He assumed with 5 of the 6 bidders so close together in price, the work included all the materials, not short circuiting anything. Keith Kroll, president of Kroll Contracting, said that all the specifications were very clear.
Councilman Jim Van Allen noted that the southwest side of the building contains very tall windows, and asked if they could be closed off. Mr. Neiss explained that the high windows will be partially screened by a dropped ceiling and the windows are tinted. Other windows have screens that can be dropped with the push of a button. Mr. Van Allen asked if there would be any drapes and was told there would not be. Mr. Neiss said the audio/video equipment to be used was tested with the video screens dropped in full daylight, and the screens were very viewable. Mr. Van Allen asked if the air conditioning would be adequate. Mr. Neiss assured him that with the 4 new AC units being plumbed in, the room would be cool within minutes. Mr. Van Allen asked for the total cost. Mr. Neiss said the building cost $407,000, the architect's fee was $18,000, and the tenant improvements are $366,700.
Mayor Les Peterson asked if there were any kind of contractor incentives for finishing on time or penalties for going beyond 120 days. Mr. Neiss explained that damages could be integrated into bid documents, but the Town would pay for that. "In projects of this scale, it would come back to us." The Mayor asked Mr. Kroll if he could foresee any reason that construction would run beyond the anticipated timeline. Mr. Kroll replied that, before the bid, an addendum was put in for an allowance for load bearing walls that are coming out because a plan is needed to deal with it, which could add time. The solution had not yet been confirmed by the architect. That was the only issue he could foresee. He felt 90 days was a doable schedule. Mr. Farrar asked if the plan would come from the architect or from a structural engineer. Mr. Kroll confirmed that it would come from a structural engineer and must be resolved before the project could commence.
With Vice Mayor John Crane absent, the Council voted 6-0 to approve the professional service contract with Kroll Construction.
https://vimeo.com/225421076
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.