Truesdale city leaders had to swallow a $90,000 bitter bill in April when they were provided with cost estimates to install air conditioning systems on the community center under construction in …
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Truesdale city leaders had to swallow a $90,000 bitter bill in April when they were provided with cost estimates to install air conditioning systems on the community center under construction in Bruer Park.
The Board of Aldermen reviewed a cost breakdown from contractor TS Banze during their April 28 public meeting.
“I had to look at this number twice,” said Mayor Chris Watson. He and the aldermen were dismayed to see the $90,000 price for air conditioning units at the building, which had originally been estimated to cost $50,000.
Cost estimates for the project were laid out more than six months ago when TS Banze was selected as the contractor. Project engineer Bart Korman with Lewis-Bade explained that the massive difference in price was due to a huge spike in the cost of construction materials and the electronics inside HVAC units.
“It’s dang near twice the price on some of the stuff,” Korman commented. “They’re locked into their labor prices ... it’s material prices that have gone up.”
Korman told the aldermen that Truesdale could proceed with construction with just heating systems to save cost, and install the air conditioners later. But the best quality work, and ultimately the most cost effective, would be to install them now, Korman said.
“If you can make the funds work and you want air conditioning, I think you should move forward with it now,” Korman advised the aldermen. “Who knows what kind of prices you’re going to get when you do bid it (later)?”
Korman said another concern is when the air conditioning equipment will actually arrive. He said the building construction should proceed on schedule, but the air conditioners could end up being installed after the rest of the building is finished.
“It’s quite an increase, but I don’t want to prolong putting (the AC units) in,” Mayor Watson commented.
“Yeah. I think if we do, we’ll be sorry,” added Alderman Jerry Cannon.
The rest of the board was in agreement. They voted 4-0 to approve the cost and go ahead with air conditioning installation.
“We just need to get it done,” said Alderman Mike Thomas.
The city board was also unhappy to find out that a new playground planned at Bruer Park could cost $13,000 more than expected.
Public Works Director Mark Bennett said he was made aware that part of the playground’s soft surface was never included in bid specifications for $252,000 in upgrades at Bruer Park. Plans and bidding documents for the upgrades were prepared by Cochran Engineering, and the project was awarded to a contractor in April.
“It’s an additional $13,000 that we have to come up with now,” Bennett said, adding that there’s disagreement with engineers about what was supposed to be in the bids. “Someone missed something, and they’re not holding themselves responsible for it.”
Bennett said the contractor could place wood chips instead of soft surface to make up the difference. But wood chips also require some maintenance that a rubberized surface wouldn’t.
Aldermen held off any decision until they can gather more information about their options.
