Syracuse Takes High Bid Under Advisement
July 20, 2022 at 10:01 p.m.
By Denise Fedorow-
The lone bid from HRP Construction was “exceptionally higher than last year,” Town Council Manager David Wilkinson said. “Take last year’s quote and double it is no longer a joke.”
Wilkinson said the original engineer’s estimate last year was around $315,000. Jeremy Hardy of Commonwealth Engineer was advised to presume a 7% increase per month so the estimate when the project went out to bid was $695,000 and the bid from HRP Construction came in at $797,694.60 for the base bid. There were two alternates —alternate one was $726,182.60 and alternate two was $711,812.60.
Wilkinson said last year they were planning on funding around $310,000 and that was all in — including labor and materials. This quote was labor only as the town had decided to purchase materials. He said if you add on materials and Commonwealth’s fees, “it could easily be over $900,000.”
Christopher Harrison, representing Commonwealth since Hardy was not available, said Hardy thought they might be able to include the project in with another project to save on cost — possibly the Oakwood lift station project.
Wilkinson said they could try to negotiate the cost but Hardy only hoped to get it down to $770,000.
Harrison said they could rebid the project, too. He advised the Council not to take action on the bid and let them regroup because “this will affect everything else we want to do down the line to fund this one.”
Harrison said, “I’m not even comfortable with it. These numbers are exaggerated beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”
He said it’s also contractors’ busy time of year so that could be a factor, too.
Councilman Larry Siegel expressed concern about waiting and asked how long they were thinking of waiting. “Because this is a worldwide event — supply and pricing — we have to deal with it.”
Harrison asked if it was reasonable to wait until spring. He said the prices might come down, work might slow down or they may be able to combine it with another project. He said, to give the Council an example, the expectation for cost is $157 a linear foot with material and installed and this bid is asking for $175 to $200 a linear foot for labor only.
They discussed moving ahead with purchasing materials since they planned to do so and in the interest of saving time, the Council approved having Public Works Superintendent Mark Aurich accept quotes for materials not to exceed $70,000 with delivery by Dec. 31.
In other public works business, the Council approved having Commonwealth conduct a flow modeling study for the water department at a cost of $55,000. Aurich said it’s “Very important to do modeling of your water system to find weak spots.”
The Council also approved having Commonwealth do a Local Technical Assist Program report and evaluation rating for Indiana Department of Transportation for $22,800.
Aurich said the report for the INDOT aids in getting grants. He also said the plan for condition of the roads should take him to 2028 and is reviewed annually.
The Council approved the Turkey Creek Fire Territory budget for 2023. Fire Chief Mickey Scott said the budget is 9.02% higher than the 2022 budget. He said it includes a 5% raise.
“You have to stay competitive —we’re still short one guy,” he said.
He also said, like the police chief reported, they’ve already used 73% of the fuel budget so they will need to move some things around to fund the rest of this year. So he increased the fuel budget to $50,000 from $27,000.
The Council approved the $2.4 million operating budget and $900,000 equipment budget. Scott said they need to purchase a new fire truck this year and that takes about a year.
Scott also reported they tested the sirens — they always test on the first Friday at 11 a.m. — and everything was working properly.
He said there were no issues from either the Lake Wawasee or the Syracuse fireworks displays.
Park Superintendent Chad Jonsson reported there were 350 bike riders in the Tour Des Lake last Saturday. He said that’s a trails program but the parks department assists.
Upcoming events include the Kiwanis Triathlon on July 30 so there may be some road closures on Long Drive. Aug. 4-6 is the townwide garage sales. He said, “That was chamber sponsored but it’s fallen to us” so anyone who wants to be on the list should call the community center. He said garage sale permits are waived that weekend.
He reported there’s a lot of work going on at the ballpark. The playground is installed and concrete work is done. They expect the work to be completed by the end of August.
Siegel asked if they’d have lifeguards next year and what could they do to ensure that they do.
Jonsson said he needs to have applicants and a higher wage should help but doesn’t guarantee. Siegel reported observing several issues and said something needs to be done. Council members suggested if not lifeguards maybe security could be hired.
In other business, the Council approved:
• An ordinance for additional appropriation in the amount of $80,000 for the Huntington Street lift station.
• An ordinance amending the town code to set the speed limit on several roads to 20 mph including Duffy Drive, Magill Court, Abby Court and Annie’s Way.
• An ordinance amending the town code to repeal the state’s utility tax effective with the August billing.
Town attorney Jay Rigdon explained after the meeting that the state imposed this tax several years ago but decided it wasn’t generating much income and they didn’t need it anymore. The estimated savings for a customer using 2,000 gallons of water with a bill of $18.95 would save $0.25 and a consumer of 30,000 gallons is anticipated to save $2.63.
The Council also:
• Introduced an ordinance for annexation of Syracuse Elementary, Eagles and a private residence on Kern Road. The annexation area is south and west of East CR 1300N and Kern Road and consists of 64 acres contiguous to town limits. This is a voluntary annexation.
• Heard the police department will need an additional appropriation of $10,000 for fuel.
The lone bid from HRP Construction was “exceptionally higher than last year,” Town Council Manager David Wilkinson said. “Take last year’s quote and double it is no longer a joke.”
Wilkinson said the original engineer’s estimate last year was around $315,000. Jeremy Hardy of Commonwealth Engineer was advised to presume a 7% increase per month so the estimate when the project went out to bid was $695,000 and the bid from HRP Construction came in at $797,694.60 for the base bid. There were two alternates —alternate one was $726,182.60 and alternate two was $711,812.60.
Wilkinson said last year they were planning on funding around $310,000 and that was all in — including labor and materials. This quote was labor only as the town had decided to purchase materials. He said if you add on materials and Commonwealth’s fees, “it could easily be over $900,000.”
Christopher Harrison, representing Commonwealth since Hardy was not available, said Hardy thought they might be able to include the project in with another project to save on cost — possibly the Oakwood lift station project.
Wilkinson said they could try to negotiate the cost but Hardy only hoped to get it down to $770,000.
Harrison said they could rebid the project, too. He advised the Council not to take action on the bid and let them regroup because “this will affect everything else we want to do down the line to fund this one.”
Harrison said, “I’m not even comfortable with it. These numbers are exaggerated beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”
He said it’s also contractors’ busy time of year so that could be a factor, too.
Councilman Larry Siegel expressed concern about waiting and asked how long they were thinking of waiting. “Because this is a worldwide event — supply and pricing — we have to deal with it.”
Harrison asked if it was reasonable to wait until spring. He said the prices might come down, work might slow down or they may be able to combine it with another project. He said, to give the Council an example, the expectation for cost is $157 a linear foot with material and installed and this bid is asking for $175 to $200 a linear foot for labor only.
They discussed moving ahead with purchasing materials since they planned to do so and in the interest of saving time, the Council approved having Public Works Superintendent Mark Aurich accept quotes for materials not to exceed $70,000 with delivery by Dec. 31.
In other public works business, the Council approved having Commonwealth conduct a flow modeling study for the water department at a cost of $55,000. Aurich said it’s “Very important to do modeling of your water system to find weak spots.”
The Council also approved having Commonwealth do a Local Technical Assist Program report and evaluation rating for Indiana Department of Transportation for $22,800.
Aurich said the report for the INDOT aids in getting grants. He also said the plan for condition of the roads should take him to 2028 and is reviewed annually.
The Council approved the Turkey Creek Fire Territory budget for 2023. Fire Chief Mickey Scott said the budget is 9.02% higher than the 2022 budget. He said it includes a 5% raise.
“You have to stay competitive —we’re still short one guy,” he said.
He also said, like the police chief reported, they’ve already used 73% of the fuel budget so they will need to move some things around to fund the rest of this year. So he increased the fuel budget to $50,000 from $27,000.
The Council approved the $2.4 million operating budget and $900,000 equipment budget. Scott said they need to purchase a new fire truck this year and that takes about a year.
Scott also reported they tested the sirens — they always test on the first Friday at 11 a.m. — and everything was working properly.
He said there were no issues from either the Lake Wawasee or the Syracuse fireworks displays.
Park Superintendent Chad Jonsson reported there were 350 bike riders in the Tour Des Lake last Saturday. He said that’s a trails program but the parks department assists.
Upcoming events include the Kiwanis Triathlon on July 30 so there may be some road closures on Long Drive. Aug. 4-6 is the townwide garage sales. He said, “That was chamber sponsored but it’s fallen to us” so anyone who wants to be on the list should call the community center. He said garage sale permits are waived that weekend.
He reported there’s a lot of work going on at the ballpark. The playground is installed and concrete work is done. They expect the work to be completed by the end of August.
Siegel asked if they’d have lifeguards next year and what could they do to ensure that they do.
Jonsson said he needs to have applicants and a higher wage should help but doesn’t guarantee. Siegel reported observing several issues and said something needs to be done. Council members suggested if not lifeguards maybe security could be hired.
In other business, the Council approved:
• An ordinance for additional appropriation in the amount of $80,000 for the Huntington Street lift station.
• An ordinance amending the town code to set the speed limit on several roads to 20 mph including Duffy Drive, Magill Court, Abby Court and Annie’s Way.
• An ordinance amending the town code to repeal the state’s utility tax effective with the August billing.
Town attorney Jay Rigdon explained after the meeting that the state imposed this tax several years ago but decided it wasn’t generating much income and they didn’t need it anymore. The estimated savings for a customer using 2,000 gallons of water with a bill of $18.95 would save $0.25 and a consumer of 30,000 gallons is anticipated to save $2.63.
The Council also:
• Introduced an ordinance for annexation of Syracuse Elementary, Eagles and a private residence on Kern Road. The annexation area is south and west of East CR 1300N and Kern Road and consists of 64 acres contiguous to town limits. This is a voluntary annexation.
• Heard the police department will need an additional appropriation of $10,000 for fuel.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092