Douglass Gym repair costs increase another $250,000

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Add rising costs to repair the Frederick Douglass Gym in Bahama Village to death and taxes as life’s inevitabilities.

The original $1.7 million estimate to install a new roof and fix serious structural problems in the building first jumped to $2.1 million when contractor bids came in last year. Now, the budget has ballooned to almost $2.3 million thanks to several unforeseen areas of deterioration that only came to light after construction began.

The latest cost increase was approved at the June 6 city commission meeting, when commissioners voted without comment for an emergency procurement that added $250,000 to the project, bringing the construction cost to $2,269,000. And that doesn’t include $200,000 spent back in 2013 for the project design blueprints or the $247,500 cost to renovate the nearby Douglass Band Room building to house a Monroe County Health Department clinic. The clinic, which had operated out of the gym building for years, had to relocate when it became clear the repairs would affect the wing where the clinic was located.

Ironically, the county health clinic is now housed in the Gato Building, with officials reluctant to move into the Douglass Band Room that was “white boxed” specifically for them because of a challenge from another Bahama Village community group. The Frederick Douglass School Black Educators’ Memorial Project wants to establish a museum in the band room space. Commissioner Clayton Lopez, who represents the Bahama Village district, has had to recuse himself from the dispute because he is an employee of the Monroe County Health Department. But he was clear that he believes the health clinic deserves to move into the former band room building to continue serving Bahama Village residents.

“I still feel that way. But do I want to keep that fight going? I’m not so sure,” he said. “They [Monroe County Health Department] didn’t want to go into a community to serve a community and have to fight with the community.”

The most recent $250,000 budget increase became necessary when the old roof was taken off, according to Kreed Howell, Key West Senior Construction Manager. Extensive “spalling,” concrete crumbling as a result of moisture, was found between the roofing system and the concrete wall, as well as when the windows were removed. An engineering report done by Hayes/Cummings Architects prior to construction anticipated some spalling but not the extent found once the walls and roof were opened up.

“It was truly unforeseen,” Howell said about the spalling. “You’d never be able to see it or assess it.”

Funding for the gym repair will come from multiple sources. Half – $1 million – came from the sale of the city-owned Pier House. Another $250,000 will come from the Caroline Street Corridor and Bahama Village Community Redevelopment Authority. The rest will come out of the city’s infrastructure fund, used to fund repairs and renovations to city-owned property.

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