Friday, December 5, 2003
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Friday, December 5, 2003 |
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Design team begins planning for library project A team of architects and engineers from the Leo A. Daly design firm and city staff will meet this week to establish a plan of action and a timeline for the renovation and expansion of the Peachtree City Library. The new project was made possible when voters approved a $4.9 million general obligation bond last month. The city’s finance department has already started the process of preparing bond papers. Immediately after the bond passed, finance director Paul Salvatore contacted outside financial specialists to assist with preparing bond documents and developing a bond marketing strategy. The services of a bond underwriter and a bond counsel are sought on these matters due to the need for highly specialized individuals who know the city’s financial status. “These are people and firms we have worked with in the past on similar projects,” said Salvatore. “They know the city’s financial strengths and can best leverage them to our advantage.” The primary role of the underwriter is to purchase securities from a government issuer and resell them to investors. The bond counsel certifies that the issuer has legal authority to issue the bonds, and that the securities qualify for federal, and if applicable, state and local, income tax exemption. The counsel also advises on compliance with all applicable constitutional, statutory and procedural requirements, commonly known as the validation process. As this process is proceeding, the design team can begin surveying, engineering and design work that will eventually produce the final construction documents that will be used to solicit competitive bid proposals from qualified general contractors. “Now that the bond referendum has been approved by voters, we will go back and reaffirm our program requirements and original design concepts,” said Blaine Paxton, Leo A. Daly’s chief architect and project manager for this project. “Our team of architects and engineers will again go over every square inch of the existing library and its systems. We will conduct a series of meetings with the library commission and personnel, and will solicit public input to insure that the final design is accurate and relevant, and supports the vision of the new library for Peachtree City.” Leo A. Daly’s Phase I design services were completed with passage of the bond referendum. Phase II will include much higher levels of design and engineering services. This phase will include schematic design, design development, production of contract documents and bid and construction administration services. As part of the Phase I contract, Leo A. Daly agreed to credit the city $20,000 of the original $48,000 design fee if the bond passed. The city can now use that $20,000 credit to begin final design work. Paxton told Library Commissioners that the production of final bid documents could take up to six months. Actual construction will probably start in late summer or early fall, 2004.
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