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Supervisors weigh clock tower options

Proceeding with the single bid may still happen

-Submitted image
This image shows what the Webster County Courthouse clock tower would look like after the proposed restoration project is completed

After the only bid for the Webster County courthouse’s clock tower and roof restoration project came in well over budget, Webster County Supervisors said that their best bet might be to accept it, anyway.

A workshop Thursday morning with a structural engineer and architect revealed some disagreement among supervisors on the way forward, with general consensus on the idea that the roof replacement and restoration needs to happen, sooner or later.

“I think everyone on this board agrees we want it done right, and we want it done right the first time,” said Supervisor Bob Thode, rebuffing the idea of saving $80,000 by skimping on the lighting in the new restoration.

The project received a single base bid of $6.19 million last week from Neumann Brothers Inc., of Des Moines, with optional copper gutters that could save a mere $30,000.

That bid comes in between $1 million and $2 million over budget with the expectations set by county engineer estimates, depending on which estimate you compare them to. Older estimates ballparked a lower cost.

Supervisors are expected to further discuss and possibly decide on a course of action next week. If they decide to go forward with the bid, the process for raising the amount of the general obligation bond may set the project, scheduled to start as early as March, back a bit.

“We’re already on a tight schedule where we were at,” said Doreen Pliner, county auditor. “If we have to start over (with bidding,) it’s going to back up a month.”

Supervisor Nick Carlson, structural engineer Craig German and OPN Architects associate Scott Allen all agreed that the best course forward to was to accept the unexpectedly high bid. Supervisor Bob Thode dissented, recommending it be let out for another round of bidding.

That could result in lower or higher prices.

“I’m not willing to take that risk,” said Supervisor Keith Dencklau, telling the board that virtually every attempt to rebid he’s seen before hasn’t worked out well.

Besides that, the only bidder has shown their hand of cards. Allen said that if supervisors did decide to rebid, they would need to substantially change the project if they expected to receive more favorable results.

“We would’ve hoped to have had more bids come in,” said Allen. “This is quite unique work with the dome.”

The project was so unique that it may have had a daunting effect on contractors. German, a structural engineer for Shuck-Britson of Des Moines, said that many contractors had no frame of reference for how to go about this project. Many found they did not have enough time to wrap their heads around how “enormous” the project would be, or to articulate their plans in time to submit a bid.

One potential contractor, who did not submit a bid, even flew an expert in to look at the courthouse.

“They needed to understand that they needed a multi-prong approach,” Allen said. “They can’t do one thing and then go to the next, they need to do five things at a time to make it happen.”

Many roofing-specific contractors were on the fence about whether they could handle the project by themselves or with minimal assistance from other subcontractors, according to the feedback they received.

Another concern for contractors was the number of projects already on their plates.

“The heartburn we had heard about was (the required) completion by December 2020,” he said. “Contractors said that within their schedule right now, they had enough projects that they couldn’t take on another one.”

Allen said that feedback in particular was the most realistic answer they received as to why bids came in higher than estimates, and that contractors wouldn’t necessarily be any less busy a year from now.

The new plans for the roof would replace the fiberglass with glass, significantly increasing the amount of light that comes in and removing the yellow tint from more than 100 years of UV exposure that currently comes from the roof. The new glass would have a longer life span with a better ability to resist impact from ice during the winter.

“The amount of light coming in will be incredible and will help us with some of our safety concerns,” said Supervisor Mark Campbell.

Other concerns with the project’s potential complications included the 15% contingency cost built into the project, which would allow for unexpected expenses as contractors dig further into the roofing and structure of the clock tower to find out exactly how much it has rotted.

German said that a 15% contingency is their best estimate for unexpected costs, but is on the higher end of what he and Allen typically recommend for contingency rates in projects. The low end of the typical range is about 5%.

“If you’ve got rotten sheathing, where do you stop?” Dencklau asked.

The affected areas would be identified, quantified, and tracked in terms of total cost change as the project progresses. The county will have a better picture of the damage once the roof is pulled off.

“It’s another hundred years before you’ve got to do it again,” Dencklau said. “It needs to be done — it has to be done.”

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