Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Council to reconsider construction contractBy JOHN MUNFORD Facing a dramatic spike in costs to build an auto repair shop for city-owned vehicles, the Peachtree City Council may cancel a construction contract it awarded for the project last year. Council originally approved the low bidder, Fincher Commercial Construction Inc., for $468,695 in June 2004. But problems cropped up during the excavation phase and a new site for the facility was selected, according to a memo from City Developmental Services Director Clyde Stricklin. Fincher was asked to provide cost estimates for construction on the new site, in the hopes that a change order could be used without rebidding the project, Stricklin noted. But some sticker shock ensued as Fincher submitted a cost estimate of $765,230, which was $296,535 over the initial price. City officials are recommending the contract be cancelled so the project can be re-bid with the city working as general contractor to complete the project within budget. The matter will be discussed at Thursdays regular City Council meeting at 7 p.m. at City Hall. In other business, council will also consider awarding a bid of $204,817 to DeKalb Office for new furniture for the expanded library. All of the existing shelving and 70 percent of the existing furniture is being refurbished and reused, and the new furniture was chosen through an extensive vetting process that included sampling by staff, library commission members and library patrons. City Manager Bernie McMullen has previously approved bids for three other furniture companies for additional library furniture. All three bids came under $40,000, the threshold that requires council approval: one with CWC for $34,369.47, another with GSI for $21,279 and the final bid from Georgia Institutional for $4,785. Another purchase up for council approval is for a high-tech video and audio surveillance system for the police department. Police Chief James Murray is asking for the equipment to be bidded sole-source so it can be programmed to work with equipment from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration. The equipment will be used for undercover and covert operations such as drug investigations and child Internet crimes. Council is also being asked to approve $118,630 for the purchase of eight trucks that will be used by six different city departments. The cost includes trade-in discounts of current surplus vehicles. Council will also select a bid for natural gas and compressed natural gas service. The low bidder, which is recommended for approval by city staff, is $86,697.65 from Coweta-Fayette EMC. A variance request for an already-built pergola and trellis in the Wilshire Estates subdivision will also be tackled by council. The structure encroaches into the 30-foot rear building setback by more than 11 feet. If the variance is not approved for Todd and Elise Tucker, they wont have to destroy the entire structure, but they would have to reduce its size to no more than 125 square feet, according to a memo from City Planner David Rast. In their appeal letter, the Tuckers noted that when the bought the home, the builders representative told them they could build the structure as long as it was freestanding and not attached to the house. They also said in the letter they would not have purchased the home if they had seen a survey of the site that indicates no structures would be allowed in the setback. The current setback leaves just 3.3 feet from the back wall of the house to build any structure, the Tuckers said in their letter. The matter could have been solved had a building permit been sought before construction occurred, Rast noted. City staff is recommending the variance not be approved. |
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