For the first part of 2016, the Azbell/City Hall turd remained buried in the corner of Council’s litter box…having been covered in gravel and forgotten temporarily. It seems that many Council turds follow this pattern: heavy activity, major screw-up, turd gets buried (but never thrown out – see: civic center or LEDC Business Park) and is then uncovered later, when they try in vain to polish the turd with more money. Nobody seems to learn that you CAN’T polish a turd.
The Old City Hall/Azbell turd was again unearthed in the May 23rd minutes, with our old friend Jennifer Walker – The Architect.
May 23, 2016: Jennifer Walker (JNW Architects) was present at the meeting. She said the Old City Hall building is in good condition. She reviewed fire protection codes, accessibility, means of egress and elevators – then reviewed her summary of requirements and recommendations.
Council asked Walker for a timeline. She thought she could have architectural plans to Council by next month and anticipated construction to begin Jan 2.
July 25, 2016: Finley provides Council with revised floor plan. John Walker, JNW Architects, is present. After review, Council approves with exception of excluding the stairs.
August 8, 2016: Budget workshop shows Renovation of Old City Hall at $400,000 in anticipation of use of CO (Certificates of Obligation).
[Also, Finley states that based on Operating Budget by Major Accounts, City worker benefits are approximately 40.8% of salary expense (24.3% is retirement, FICA and worker’s comp while 16.5% is health insurance) – something to remember when they create new positions out of thin air that “only” pay $65,000. You need to add another 40% on to that to see the REAL cost to the taxpayer.]
Sept 26, 2016: More budget workshops – Old City Hall rehab estimated cost $600,000 [no, you are not imagining things…it seems to go up in price every time it is mentioned]. Also deGraffenried explained that Council is asked to consider the attached Ordinance that would authorize the issuance of bonds to support the renovation of Old City Hall [among other things]. [Proposed City Operating Budget is $26,659,526.00 – just an FYI]
Oct 10, 2016: Finley gives Council a copy of the “scope of services” proposal from JNW Architects for architectural services for Old City Hall. Total cost is $38,500 – the breakdown is $20,000 for construction drawings “for construction in compliance with the City’s requirements” and another $18,500 for “structural analysis and provide documentation” of said analysis. Jennifer Walker was present for meeting.
Council asks about a time frame and feels a clause should be inserted to hold them to a deadline. Walker says 6-8 weeks…12 tops, if there are any unforeseen issues. Harrison moves to approve proposal with the insertion of a 12-week deadline [roughly mid-January of 2017]….seconded by Talbert and carries unanimously.
Oct 24, 2016: Bids are received for demolition plans as specified by JNW Architects. Quote are received from two local contractors:
- RKJ Construction $13,500
- Mike Hail Constructions $16,625
Councilman Harrison moves to award contract to RKJ…it is seconded and passes unanimously.
Nov 14, 2016: Demolition work is done in 14 days and 20,000 pounds of weight is removed from building.
deGraffenreid brings bids to Council on elevator equipment and installation. Bids were:
- Austin Elevator Co $96,605
- Trojan Elevator Co $206,909
- RKJ Construction $119,532
Harrison moves to accept bid from RKJ – not the lowest bid – because “they are local and have done previous work for the city” [I get the local thing…but that’s $23,000…ouch]. Seconded by White and passes unanimously.
Nov 28, 2016: Requests for qualifications have been published and distributed for Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) services.
Dec 12, 2016: Seven RFQs received for the MEP work (can be found in minutes). deGraffenreid said than after review and scoring done by City staff, the highest ranked firm is Hendrix Consulting Engineers out of Round Rock, Texas….and “asked Council to allow City staff to negotiate with them. Once the City has a cost amount, it will be brought back to Council for consideration.” McCauley then moves to authorize…Harrison seconds and motion passes unanimously.
[That is all info in the minutes for 2016. Part V will follow and things get quite interesting there….it will cover 2017 and show this project balloon over a million dollars and counting]