Bids Come In High for New Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters
This conceptual rendering from M&G Architects and Engineers shows the exterior design of the new Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters, which is planned for construction at a site on 17th Street in East Wheeling.
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This conceptual rendering from M&G Architects and Engineers shows the exterior design of the new Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters, which is planned for construction at a site on 17th Street in East Wheeling.
Photo Provided
This conceptual rendering from M&G Architects and Engineers shows the exterior design of the new Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters, which is planned for construction at a site on 17th Street in East Wheeling.
Photo Provided
This conceptual rendering from M&G Architects and Engineers shows the exterior design of the new Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters, which is planned for construction at a site on 17th Street in East Wheeling.
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WHEELING -- Officials in the city of Wheeling are working with the architect that designed the city’s new fire department headquarters to trim down some of the overall costs after bids for the construction of the facility came in over budget.
The long-awaited bid opening for the construction project took place at the end of last month, and since then, officials have been working on ways to still move forward with the project as originally scheduled. Existing buildings on the 17th Street property in East Wheeling -- where construction of the new Wheeling Fire Department headquarters was expected to begin later this year -- are currently being razed and removed by Edgco Inc. of Lansing as part of the site preparation.
But the high bids have thrown a curveball into the mix, and with a favorable financing package currently in place, officials noted that it was important to identify the specific items within the bids that caused the proposals to reflect higher costs and to try to find areas in the design of the project that can be tweaked or eliminated in order to cut costs and remain within budget.
"The bid process is extremely time sensitive," Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said on Wednesday. "We’re going to do everything we can to cut the costs down."
Wheeling firm M&G Architects and Engineers were hired by the city to design the new fire department headquarters. Herron said the low bidder for the construction of the building had actually made a significant technical error, and that bid reportedly was rejected. The contractor that was expected to be recommended to council was &build, a PCS company, of Cleveland, as the lowest and best, most responsive bidder as it related to the project specifications outlined by the engineer.
"Right now the project, because of this environment that we are in -- and from a bidding perspective -- is about $1.2 million above the estimated cost," Herron said, noting that construction costs have increased for many projects over the past several months. "So the architect and engineer has been working with the low bidder to see if there are ways to reduce that number and still not compromise the project."
However, the window of opportunity is closing within the next few days on the favorable interest rate and financing proposal that is on the table, the city manager explained.
"We’re at a point where that decision will be made sometime this week, because as I’ve previously reported, we did receive a very good financing package from the Community Bank, and it does have an expiration date on it, so we’re hopeful that if we can come to an agreement with a project we can afford, and that we will be able to present it to city council," Herron said.
A bond ordinance approved by Wheeling City Council was approved earlier this year in order to secure financing for the project, which will ultimately be repaid through money generated by the City Service Fee. With the financing created through the bonds for major construction projects like this, the city typically provides language to provide a cushion in the top figure to allow for unforeseen expenses and additional costs above the engineer’s estimate.
The language in the bond issue for the fire department financing stated that the lease revenue bonds were to be in "an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $9 million."
Herron on Wednesday said the engineer’s estimate for the project was just under $7.8 million, but the high bids landed near the roof of the overall financing package set forth by the bond ordinance.
After bids came in high, city officials began exploring all options to reduce costs and even explored the option of delaying the project for one to two years in order to see if the markets for construction materials or financing may improve. However, Herron said it was determined that the city would not likely find itself in a better position if the construction project was temporarily put on hold.
As the engineer, contractor and city administration continue to work on a solution, a determination regarding the best option moving forward is expected to be made in the coming days. If so, a special meeting of Wheeling City Council will likely be scheduled in order for city leaders to approve a contract before the window closes on the favorable financing package.
"We’re close to a recommendation," Herron said.