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Carefree Truth
Issue #979, January 3, 2021
Issue #979, January 3, 2021
Mark Milstone, the Town Engineer, explained that as part of the ongoing pavement management cycle, 3 sections of Cave Creek Road would be improved. The first section, from behind Town Hall to Mule Train Road, will get a mill and overlay. 2" will be milled off and replaced. The section from Mule Train Road to Pima Road will receive a crack seal and a slurry seal. To the far east, by Desert Mountain Parkway, there is a section of about 200' that has been pushed off between Scottsdale and Carefree, neither of whom claimed it, for over 20 years. It is in bad shape and will also get a mill and overlay.
In addition to the pavement work there are two crosswalks, one at Hum Road and one at Carefree Drive, that will be upgraded and refitted with pedestrian equipment to make it safer for people to cross Cave Creek Road. During the bid process, a 4-way crosswalk at Tranquil Trail was included. However, the residents there expressed concern about the noise created by motorcycles stopping at the 4-way intersection and revving their engines. They felt this would aggravate the current noise problem, so the decision was made to remove that and to look for a solution in the future.
The original low bidder was Copper State Pavement Inc., with a bid of $1,043,365.83. With the change order, that bid was reduced by $45,748.37, bringing the revised bid to $997,617.46, with a contingency of $199,522.54 in case they increase the price of the contract, but he did not expect to spend that much. The amount in the original budget was $1,250,970.00. The change order includes the deletion of the crosswalk at Tranquil Trail and the addition of triangular rapid flashing beacons to replace the circular rapid flashing beacons that don't meet the current standards.
Mr. Milstone was still in negotiations with Copper State Pavement, so he was asking for an authorization to award the contract to them, but was not asking for a signed contract yet. He asked if the Council had any questions.
Vice Mayor John Crane noted that in the past, Carefree had piggybacked onto work being done in Scottsdale to save money. He asked Gary Neiss if that did not apply here. "Is that no longer an option?" Mr. Neiss explained that piggyback was on an existing contract with Scottsdale and Buckeye. The contract has to allow for that provision, and it has to be like for like. In this case, there is an assortment of treatments, so Carefree cannot use a piggyback provision due to the uniqueness of this project.
The Vice Mayor said the improvement of the crosswalks is long overdue and he was glad to see it being done. But what will be different than what is there now? Councilwoman Cheryl Kroyer asked how it conforms to the plans that Rick Engineering put together for those crosswalks. Mr. Milstone replied that they used Rick's plans for these crosswalks and put them into the bid packet. The only change is the use of triangular, rather than circular rapid flashing beacons. Ms. Kroyer said that a lot of people would be very happy to see work on the crosswalks commence. Mr. Milstone said he was excited to get this going.
Mayor Peterson asked what the timing was on this. Mr. Milstone noted that they had been delayed for various reasons, but as soon as he got the approval from the Council, he would begin the negotiations with Copper State, to include the change order. He expected a start date of January 1st, with a 60 day time limit to complete construction, although some of the work is temperature sensitive and that may come into play. The contractor can't be held to the 60 day limit if some days are lost due to temperature constraints.
Ms. Kroyer asked if anything would be started on the crosswalks on Tom Darlington Drive. Mr. Milstone replied that those were not part of this contract, but he will address that next.
Vice Mayor Crane asked if an island will be installed for someone to wait on while crossing at Cave Creek Road and Hum Road. Mr. Milstone said there would not be an island there. Ms. Kroyer said she remembered an island being part of Rick Engineering's original plan. So did Vice Mayor Crane, who said that was why he asked when he didn't see it on the plans presented that evening. Mr. Milstone said he was new to the job and he was not aware of that being part of the plan. Councilman Stephen Hatcher said he also remembered an island there. Mr. Milstone said he would check on that and get back to the Council about why that went away. Ms. Kroyer said there is a lot of traffic there and no safe place to wait in case people aren't stopping, which was the purpose of it. Mr. Hatcher thought there had also been motion activated low lighting on the island so people could be seen in the dark.
Mayor Peterson asked if this issue could be resolved in time for the Council meeting that was planned for December 14th, if they withheld their vote that evening. Mr. Milstone said an additional change order might delay the start of construction. He would talk to Rick Engineering the following day to see why the island was no longer on the plans. The Mayor agreed to proceed with the vote to award the contract that night so it could get started, but wanted to pursue the change order so it was as appropriate as they could make it. Mr. Neiss said any additional cost associated with the change order can come back to the Council for approval. Mr. Milstone suggested that the additional change order to add an island might very well be covered by the contingency amount built into the approval of the expenditure. Vice Mayor Crane reiterated that an island should be placed there so people could get across safely. Ms. Kroyer agreed.
The Council unanimously approved the motion to award the contract to Copper State Pavement Inc. and to authorize the Capital Improvement Project Funds for the Street Maintenance Project.
https://vimeo.com/655698962
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
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In addition to the pavement work there are two crosswalks, one at Hum Road and one at Carefree Drive, that will be upgraded and refitted with pedestrian equipment to make it safer for people to cross Cave Creek Road. During the bid process, a 4-way crosswalk at Tranquil Trail was included. However, the residents there expressed concern about the noise created by motorcycles stopping at the 4-way intersection and revving their engines. They felt this would aggravate the current noise problem, so the decision was made to remove that and to look for a solution in the future.
The original low bidder was Copper State Pavement Inc., with a bid of $1,043,365.83. With the change order, that bid was reduced by $45,748.37, bringing the revised bid to $997,617.46, with a contingency of $199,522.54 in case they increase the price of the contract, but he did not expect to spend that much. The amount in the original budget was $1,250,970.00. The change order includes the deletion of the crosswalk at Tranquil Trail and the addition of triangular rapid flashing beacons to replace the circular rapid flashing beacons that don't meet the current standards.
Mr. Milstone was still in negotiations with Copper State Pavement, so he was asking for an authorization to award the contract to them, but was not asking for a signed contract yet. He asked if the Council had any questions.
Vice Mayor John Crane noted that in the past, Carefree had piggybacked onto work being done in Scottsdale to save money. He asked Gary Neiss if that did not apply here. "Is that no longer an option?" Mr. Neiss explained that piggyback was on an existing contract with Scottsdale and Buckeye. The contract has to allow for that provision, and it has to be like for like. In this case, there is an assortment of treatments, so Carefree cannot use a piggyback provision due to the uniqueness of this project.
The Vice Mayor said the improvement of the crosswalks is long overdue and he was glad to see it being done. But what will be different than what is there now? Councilwoman Cheryl Kroyer asked how it conforms to the plans that Rick Engineering put together for those crosswalks. Mr. Milstone replied that they used Rick's plans for these crosswalks and put them into the bid packet. The only change is the use of triangular, rather than circular rapid flashing beacons. Ms. Kroyer said that a lot of people would be very happy to see work on the crosswalks commence. Mr. Milstone said he was excited to get this going.
Mayor Peterson asked what the timing was on this. Mr. Milstone noted that they had been delayed for various reasons, but as soon as he got the approval from the Council, he would begin the negotiations with Copper State, to include the change order. He expected a start date of January 1st, with a 60 day time limit to complete construction, although some of the work is temperature sensitive and that may come into play. The contractor can't be held to the 60 day limit if some days are lost due to temperature constraints.
Ms. Kroyer asked if anything would be started on the crosswalks on Tom Darlington Drive. Mr. Milstone replied that those were not part of this contract, but he will address that next.
Vice Mayor Crane asked if an island will be installed for someone to wait on while crossing at Cave Creek Road and Hum Road. Mr. Milstone said there would not be an island there. Ms. Kroyer said she remembered an island being part of Rick Engineering's original plan. So did Vice Mayor Crane, who said that was why he asked when he didn't see it on the plans presented that evening. Mr. Milstone said he was new to the job and he was not aware of that being part of the plan. Councilman Stephen Hatcher said he also remembered an island there. Mr. Milstone said he would check on that and get back to the Council about why that went away. Ms. Kroyer said there is a lot of traffic there and no safe place to wait in case people aren't stopping, which was the purpose of it. Mr. Hatcher thought there had also been motion activated low lighting on the island so people could be seen in the dark.
Mayor Peterson asked if this issue could be resolved in time for the Council meeting that was planned for December 14th, if they withheld their vote that evening. Mr. Milstone said an additional change order might delay the start of construction. He would talk to Rick Engineering the following day to see why the island was no longer on the plans. The Mayor agreed to proceed with the vote to award the contract that night so it could get started, but wanted to pursue the change order so it was as appropriate as they could make it. Mr. Neiss said any additional cost associated with the change order can come back to the Council for approval. Mr. Milstone suggested that the additional change order to add an island might very well be covered by the contingency amount built into the approval of the expenditure. Vice Mayor Crane reiterated that an island should be placed there so people could get across safely. Ms. Kroyer agreed.
The Council unanimously approved the motion to award the contract to Copper State Pavement Inc. and to authorize the Capital Improvement Project Funds for the Street Maintenance Project.
https://vimeo.com/655698962
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
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.