Amendments to Contract for Police and Fire Stations
One item on the Consent Agenda for this Thursday’s Council Meeting is the ratification of Mayor Schoolcraft’s approval of some changes he made to the design-build contract between the City and Middleman Construction for the new police and fire stations. Council has already given the Mayor the authority to make these changes. The vote tonight is just to ratify his actions.
I will admit upfront that I don’t understand what all the changes mean, and I still have some questions on these amendments and their intended purposes. However, in an effort to inform our readers and as food for thought, I will list some of these changes, which, I believe, are being made to cut the bottom-line cost of the contract.
Will the changes compromise the quality of the project? Will they cost us taxpayers more over the coming years? Will they jeopardize public safety or the safety of our police officers or our firefighters? I can’t say, because I don’t know enough about the requirements of, for example, driveways. How thick should they be to support the heavy fire trucks and other emergency vehicles?
I have listed some of the changes below. This list will not be a complete list of the changes, just the ones I thought were most pertinent. To see a complete list of the amendments, go to the City’s website (www.helotes-tx.gov) and look at the agenda for Thursday’s meeting. Under agenda item number 10, you can click on the word “Contract” in the third line and that will bring up a copy of these amendments.
Bid alternate #1 - install fiber board duct in lieu of metal duct at both stations (saves $27,900); 5 inch thick concrete paving in lieu of 7 inch thick concrete paving (-$12,500); change heavy duty asphalt paving to light duty (-$6,664); install double lock standing seam roof to match existing City structures in lieu of CeeLock metal roof (-$17,600); some electrical/generator changes that I really don’t understand, but they must be substantial changes because they save $172,030; change overhead sectional doors (-$15,427); delete non-essential curbs (-$6,627); and reduce stucco thickness from 1 inch to 5/8 inch (-$2,400). All of the changes in Bid Alternate #1 (not all listed here) resulted in a deduction of $286,211.
Bid Alternate #2 – reduce concrete driveway width at rear entrance to apparatus bay (-$2,740); residential grade windows in lieu of storefront type (-$9,138); roof decking 7/16 inch OSB in lieu of 3/4 inch plywood (-$5,072); omit emergency eye wash station and associated water service plumbing at Sally Port (City to provide and install self contained unit) (-$1,700); polished concrete instead of carpet (-$9,360); omit grease trap at fire station (-$10,000); 80Kw NG generator in lieu of 250Kw diesel generator at police station (-$36,300). Because of these changes there were architectural, MEP engineer, and civil engineer redesign fees in excess of $12,000. All of the changes in Bid Alternate #2 (not all listed here) resulted in a deduction of $55,020.
Bid Alternate #3 – delete Apparatus bay trench drains and oil interceptor (-$22,900); add architectural and engineering redesign fee (+$2,830); rough in water supply for future eye wash at Sally Port (+$700). All of the changes in Bid Alternate #3 (not all listed here) resulted in a deduction of $19,370.
Bid Alternate #4 – delete CU-7/AC-1 at bunker gear storage (whatever that is) (-$4,485 which was the total deduction for Bid Alternate #4).
Bid Alternate #5 – delete Kohler 80 KW NG Generator (-$56,500) (City will purchase and install generator); delete boring under FM 1560 for public sewer (-$20,000); delete fencing at two dumpster/generator enclosures (-$5,280) (fencing and painting will be done by City). All of the changes in Bid Alternate #4 resulted in a deduction of $81,780.
The total reduction in the cost of construction because of all the changes was $439,466. bringing the total of the contract to $4,497,990.
On the surface, a reduction of over $400,000 in the cost of construction would appear to be a good thing, but will it cost us taxpayers more over the coming years?? For instance, the original architects (whose work was scrapped by the Mayor when Council decided to go with a design/build construction firm changing the original buildings to metal buildings, among many other changes) told the Mayor that a stucco finish would not last but 8 or 10 years before needing repair (if my memory is correct), and now they are reducing the thickness of the stucco which would, in turn, seem to decrease that durability even more.
I guess only time will tell.
Comments??
This is what happens when an individual is given unlimited control to modify contracts. The community receives no information concerning the consequences of all of these changes. The Mayor and Council members likely will no longer be around to assume any responsibility for any detrimental consequences of their actions. None of the council members have the training or experience to judge the appropriateness of these changes. The then citizens of Helotes will have to assume financial responsibility for defects resulting from Schoolcraft’s modifications. Schoolcraft is assuming a responsibility for expertise he lacks, and the council has abdicated their responsibility to appropriately oversee the construction of these buildings.