City Hall construction to begin Feb. 5
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
Despite a last minute about-face by Key West City Commissioners in November when they went against staff recommendations and hired the lowest bidder to build the new City Hall, construction is now slated to begin on Feb. 5.
The project, which is currently running about $1.8 million over initial budget estimates, will be finished on March 1, 2016, according to a memo sent to City Manager Jim Scholl by Michael Vieux, a Senior Construction Manager in the city’s engineering department. The contractor, Burke Construction Group, has already shortened the estimated construction time by 73 days, Vieux said in his memo, because the city made the formal notice of award to Burke in 17 days when it had 90 days to do so.
“I would expect more shaving [off the estimated construction schedule], since the contractor tells me he has to purchase builder’s risk insurance before Jan. 1, 2016, in order to avoid a cost hike. He should want to start as quickly as possible since he’s paying for that by the days in construction,” Vieux said.
Burke Construction has a Jan. 2 deadline to sign the $14,997,500 contract with the city. The latest date Burke can begin renovating the former Glynn Archer Elementary School into a state of the art city hall is Feb. 5. And 410 days later, if all goes according to plan, the new city hall will be completed.
“We expect to move quicker,” Scholl wrote in an email to commissioners regarding the maximum construction timeline Burke has submitted.
Contractors will also be looking for ways to reduce the budget by researching lower cost materials. Although the city has money in its capital fund to cover the $1.8 million estimated budget increase, commissioners told Burke Construction, Scholl and the engineering department to find ways to bring that down. Scholl said one way may be to reuse more of the existing materials currently in the vacant building.
Despite not being the lowest of the three bidders, city planning and engineering staff and project architect Bert Bender had recommended commissioners award the contract to Biltmore Construction. They said Biltmore’s $15.2 million bid provided more value to the city because of the company’s experience and qualifications. However, four of the commission members balked when they saw that even the lowest bid was $1.8 million more than Bender had estimated.
Biltmore has since sent a letter to commissioners saying the company doesn’t believe the city adhered to the legal bidding process. However, Biltmore Vice President Travis Parker said the company does not want to sue the city and even offered to help officials better understand “due diligence, ethics and proper procedure” going forward.
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I would like to thank each and everyone of the egregious inmates who run the asylum for squandering our resources on an unnecessary testament to their egos. This is the 3rd city hall on the island cannot be justified.
Repair the old one! Repeat; repair the old one. Less expense of construction, less time in the inordinately expensive rental premises, and less office space for the inflated egos.
A whole city block for what? A monkey house. It could have been something that the people could have used, a civic center for the citizenry. But no!
The few feel they needed to erect a testament to their greatness. When, in reality, it is only a monument to their excesses.
Phooey!