BOW Changes Contractor For Hodges Addition Phase 2 Project
August 5, 2022 at 10:47 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Street Superintendent Dustin Dillon said sealed bids for the reconstruction were received and opened at the June 17 Board of Works meeting. It was awarded to G & G Hauling & Excavating on July 1 for $1,008,964, and the owner-contractor agreement was signed July 15.
“While submitting that contract to (Indiana Department of Transportation) to receive our funding for the Community Crossings grant, we were notified that G & G was not a pre-qualified contractor with INDOT, therefore making their bid non-responsive,” Dillon said.
He asked the Board of Works to reject the contract and bid from G & G, award it to Phend & Brown Inc. for $1,200,159.84 as they had been pre-qualified, and approve the contract agreement with Phend & Brown so it can be turned in to the state.
Dillon said G & G has been made aware of the situation.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said the error was caught by INDOT and it’s unfortunate but “that’s the way it’s written.”
City attorney Scott Reust said they have to follow state statute and don’t have a choice. The Board approved to reject G & G’s contract and bid, award the bid to Phend & Brown and accept the contract with Phend & Brown.
The project is tentatively expected to start shortly after Labor Day, Dillon said.
While unleaded gasoline prices are hovering around $4 per gallon locally now, down from around $5 earlier this year, the city of Warsaw will be paying about a dollar less than that in 2023.
One bid for 80,000 gallons of 87 octane unleaded gasoline for 2023 was submitted at the Board of Works meeting Friday. The bid from Lassus Brothers was for $2.99 per gallon.
Warsaw Police Chief Scott Whitaker took the bid under advisement during the Board meeting, only to come back toward the end of the meeting to recommend the Board approve the bid, which it did.
A sole bid for diesel fuel for the Warsaw Street Department for the remainder of 2022 - with an option to extend the pricing into 2023 - also was opened. The bid was from Ceres Solution Co-op and included $3.745 per gallon for onroad diesel fuel; $3.895 per gallon for off-road diesel fuel; and $3.48 per gallon for ethanol-free gas.
Dillon took the bid under advisement until the end of the Board meeting when he recommended the Board approve the bid, which they did.
Human Resource Director Denny Harlan presented his new hire/change in the payroll report to the Board, which included a new probationary Warsaw Police Department officer moving over from the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.
KCSO Sgt. Christopher Francis will join the WPD Sept. 4 as a probationary patrol officer. His full-time biweekly pay will be $2,277.66.
Thallemer said he was appreciative that they have added another police officer.
Whitaker said Francis is well-known in the community and is a 15-year veteran, having also spent time before that as a jailer.
“Very experienced and he’s going to bring a lot of knowledge to our police department,” Whitaker said of Francis.
Francis brings the WPD up to 38 officers.
Also in his report, Harlan said WPD Sgt. Phillip Reed voluntarily took a reduction to corporal to be the school resource officer at Warsaw Community High School. His full-time biweekly salary will be $2,718.73.
The Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory has two new probationary firefighters. Tristan Pass was a part-time firefighter with the department for a while, but now will be full-time at $2,131.47 biweekly. Logan Keener is coming from northeast Indiana to be a full-time firefighter at $2,131.47 biweekly. Both start their duties this month.
The Board approved all of the personnel changes presented.
In other business, the Board of Works approved:
• An amendment to the project coordination between the city and state for the construction portion of the Lincoln neighborhood sidewalk project, as requested by City Planner Justin Taylor.
“This is more of one of those INDOT administrative things that we have to do. When the project was rebid, it was significantly higher, so this (amendment) is a result of that price increase for the project. It’s still an 80/20 match, so INDOT is committing the funds for this project in the amount of $2.4 million. So that reflects the new bid amount that we received,” he said.
The previous contract amount was for about $1.12 million.
• WPD Capt. Joel Beam’s request to purchase 28 FirstVu Pro High Definition body cameras. The fee for the first year is $20,776 and $20,496 per year for the remainder of the 60-month term. A grant will cover about $11,000 of the first-year costs.
• A request by Kosciusko Kettleheads to close Buffalo Street from Center to Main streets on Sept. 24 from their 2022 Homebrew Fest. The event is from 4 to 9 p.m. but the road closure will be from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. so the event can be set up and torn down. The event benefits Combined Community Services.
• The acceptance of a $6,250 grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation to reimburse the student artists for materials used in the construction of their temporary art display downtown Warsaw, as requested by Taylor. He said the temporary art display was well-received by the community and the artists themselves.
• Pay application No. 30 from Structurepoint for the Anchorage Road project in the amount of $7,210.20. It is an 80/20 Indiana Department of Transportation-funded project so the city will pay 20% throughout the project and be reimbursed the other 80% for each phase over the next four years.
Pay application No. 9 from Structurepoint for right-of-way services for the same project also was approved for $1,002.93.
• The annual Boyce Keystone software license agreements for the clerk-treasurer’s office and the wastewater payment office. Cost is $8,540 for the clerk’s office and $3,460 for the wastewater payment office.
• Accepting a $5,360 Indiana Department of Homeland Security grant for the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory for Firehouse Fabricator Window Simulators for the WWFT’s training center. The WWFT Board approved accepting the grant on Tuesday.
• Pay application No. 2 from G & G for $9,875.25 for Center Lake restoration work, as requested by Utility Superintendent Brian Davison.
• Pay application No. 2 from G & G for $145,594.22 for reconstruction of Country Club Lane and Country Club Lane extension intersection.
• Pay application No. 2 for $22,538.56 from G & G for work on the Kelly Park pond improvement project, which has been halted while an elevation issue is being addressed.
Street Superintendent Dustin Dillon said sealed bids for the reconstruction were received and opened at the June 17 Board of Works meeting. It was awarded to G & G Hauling & Excavating on July 1 for $1,008,964, and the owner-contractor agreement was signed July 15.
“While submitting that contract to (Indiana Department of Transportation) to receive our funding for the Community Crossings grant, we were notified that G & G was not a pre-qualified contractor with INDOT, therefore making their bid non-responsive,” Dillon said.
He asked the Board of Works to reject the contract and bid from G & G, award it to Phend & Brown Inc. for $1,200,159.84 as they had been pre-qualified, and approve the contract agreement with Phend & Brown so it can be turned in to the state.
Dillon said G & G has been made aware of the situation.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said the error was caught by INDOT and it’s unfortunate but “that’s the way it’s written.”
City attorney Scott Reust said they have to follow state statute and don’t have a choice. The Board approved to reject G & G’s contract and bid, award the bid to Phend & Brown and accept the contract with Phend & Brown.
The project is tentatively expected to start shortly after Labor Day, Dillon said.
While unleaded gasoline prices are hovering around $4 per gallon locally now, down from around $5 earlier this year, the city of Warsaw will be paying about a dollar less than that in 2023.
One bid for 80,000 gallons of 87 octane unleaded gasoline for 2023 was submitted at the Board of Works meeting Friday. The bid from Lassus Brothers was for $2.99 per gallon.
Warsaw Police Chief Scott Whitaker took the bid under advisement during the Board meeting, only to come back toward the end of the meeting to recommend the Board approve the bid, which it did.
A sole bid for diesel fuel for the Warsaw Street Department for the remainder of 2022 - with an option to extend the pricing into 2023 - also was opened. The bid was from Ceres Solution Co-op and included $3.745 per gallon for onroad diesel fuel; $3.895 per gallon for off-road diesel fuel; and $3.48 per gallon for ethanol-free gas.
Dillon took the bid under advisement until the end of the Board meeting when he recommended the Board approve the bid, which they did.
Human Resource Director Denny Harlan presented his new hire/change in the payroll report to the Board, which included a new probationary Warsaw Police Department officer moving over from the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.
KCSO Sgt. Christopher Francis will join the WPD Sept. 4 as a probationary patrol officer. His full-time biweekly pay will be $2,277.66.
Thallemer said he was appreciative that they have added another police officer.
Whitaker said Francis is well-known in the community and is a 15-year veteran, having also spent time before that as a jailer.
“Very experienced and he’s going to bring a lot of knowledge to our police department,” Whitaker said of Francis.
Francis brings the WPD up to 38 officers.
Also in his report, Harlan said WPD Sgt. Phillip Reed voluntarily took a reduction to corporal to be the school resource officer at Warsaw Community High School. His full-time biweekly salary will be $2,718.73.
The Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory has two new probationary firefighters. Tristan Pass was a part-time firefighter with the department for a while, but now will be full-time at $2,131.47 biweekly. Logan Keener is coming from northeast Indiana to be a full-time firefighter at $2,131.47 biweekly. Both start their duties this month.
The Board approved all of the personnel changes presented.
In other business, the Board of Works approved:
• An amendment to the project coordination between the city and state for the construction portion of the Lincoln neighborhood sidewalk project, as requested by City Planner Justin Taylor.
“This is more of one of those INDOT administrative things that we have to do. When the project was rebid, it was significantly higher, so this (amendment) is a result of that price increase for the project. It’s still an 80/20 match, so INDOT is committing the funds for this project in the amount of $2.4 million. So that reflects the new bid amount that we received,” he said.
The previous contract amount was for about $1.12 million.
• WPD Capt. Joel Beam’s request to purchase 28 FirstVu Pro High Definition body cameras. The fee for the first year is $20,776 and $20,496 per year for the remainder of the 60-month term. A grant will cover about $11,000 of the first-year costs.
• A request by Kosciusko Kettleheads to close Buffalo Street from Center to Main streets on Sept. 24 from their 2022 Homebrew Fest. The event is from 4 to 9 p.m. but the road closure will be from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. so the event can be set up and torn down. The event benefits Combined Community Services.
• The acceptance of a $6,250 grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation to reimburse the student artists for materials used in the construction of their temporary art display downtown Warsaw, as requested by Taylor. He said the temporary art display was well-received by the community and the artists themselves.
• Pay application No. 30 from Structurepoint for the Anchorage Road project in the amount of $7,210.20. It is an 80/20 Indiana Department of Transportation-funded project so the city will pay 20% throughout the project and be reimbursed the other 80% for each phase over the next four years.
Pay application No. 9 from Structurepoint for right-of-way services for the same project also was approved for $1,002.93.
• The annual Boyce Keystone software license agreements for the clerk-treasurer’s office and the wastewater payment office. Cost is $8,540 for the clerk’s office and $3,460 for the wastewater payment office.
• Accepting a $5,360 Indiana Department of Homeland Security grant for the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory for Firehouse Fabricator Window Simulators for the WWFT’s training center. The WWFT Board approved accepting the grant on Tuesday.
• Pay application No. 2 from G & G for $9,875.25 for Center Lake restoration work, as requested by Utility Superintendent Brian Davison.
• Pay application No. 2 from G & G for $145,594.22 for reconstruction of Country Club Lane and Country Club Lane extension intersection.
• Pay application No. 2 for $22,538.56 from G & G for work on the Kelly Park pond improvement project, which has been halted while an elevation issue is being addressed.
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