The Warren County Commission said it will decide over the next few days whether or not to hire non-union bricklayers to jumpstart a portion of the county’s new administration building project. Union bricklayers have been absent from the job site since June 1, the same day St. Louis Bricklayers Local 1 began a strike after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract with the Masons Contractors Association of St. Louis. John J. Smith Masonry, of St. Louis, is the contractor in charge of the masonry work, and a member of the Masons Contractors Association. John Smith, the company’s owner, informed commissioners he could hire non-union workers to restart that portion of the project if contract talks continue to drag on. He had already talked to potential companies in Texas, Arizona and Kentucky. Smith met with the commissioners Monday prior to attending another meeting in what he hoped ironed out the final details of a contract settlement. He said the contract was nearly wrapped up during an 18-hour session that concluded early Saturday morning. Smith speculated that the strike could be over by week’s end, though he also was surprised how long the dispute has lasted. If a resolution is not reached by Friday, commissioners agreed they would need to make a decision on how to proceed. Commissioners, however, are apprehensive about bringing in an out of state company to work on the building. Prior to accepting bids on the project, commissioners emphasized they wanted to have as much local representation as possible with the project’s work force. Smith told commissioners that nearly half of his union crew that would be working on the administration building resides in the county. “We could get some shoddy work knowing that you may settle quickly,” Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said referring to using out of state crews. “They might not have pride in what they do. My gut feeling is go back to arbitration and get it done.” Construction has been ongoing on the county’s 36,670-square-foot facility since October. The county’s new facility will house all non-court related offices. The building is being constructed on 3 acres the county purchased in 2009 on South Highway 47 and Mockingbird Lane in Warrenton. Construction is expected to be complete in April 2012. The building project is estimated to cost $6.5 million and is being funded out of the county’s capital improvement fund. The bricklayers’ absence has not caused any delays in the project yet, according to Greg Drake, of Septagon, the construction manager. The union crews had started some masonry work in May, but were told to leave the job site once the strike was imminent. He said the bricklayers have up to seven weeks of work to complete their portion of the project. If a non-union subcontractor is hired, Smith told the commissioners union members would likely picket at the job site. The subcontractor also will have to stop work once the strike ends. He emphasized his union crew would be prepared to start immediately. “When it’s over, we will be here the next day,” Smith explained. Kluesner added: “I feel very uncomfortable bringing somebody in here and telling them tomorrow they won’t be working here.” Roof Panels to Arrive Soon With the installation of the sub-roofing materials, the roof panels for the building are expected to arrive in the next few weeks. In Monday’s construction report, Drake said mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire sprinkler contractors were expected to start work within a few days. He said the contractors were scheduled to start a few weeks ago but the installation of roofing materials and the inability to get the building’s sewer line connected with the city’s sewer main caused delays. Also in Monday’s meeting, Drake noted that all 70 geothermal wells have been drilled. Last month, five wells still needed to be drilled. Initially, the wells were expected to be completed by early February, but the subcontractor was delayed by weather and equipment issues. Heggemann Plumbing is scheduled to start work on the horizontal piping that will be connecting the wells to the building structure. Grading on the site is expected to restart this week, Drake said. Change Orders Approved The county commission unanimously approved change orders totaling $99,352.30 at Monday’s meeting, of which $94,352.30 will be paid to Heggemann for work related to drilling the geothermal wells. The most expensive change was $87,206.70 to cover the additional expense of using steel casings during the drilling process. Also, it cost an additional $7,145.60 to drill oversized wells due to encountering unstable sand and gravel between 60 to 100 feet below the surface, Drake said. The final change order totaled $5,000 for Higgins Electric, Inc. The amount actually had been a credit offered by the contractor and accepted by the county earlier this year. However, it has since been discovered the drawings the contractors were reviewing were incorrect at the time the credit was offered. The extra money will cover the purchase of larger electrical panels.