Warsaw BOW Awards Bid For Center Lake Trailway Project
June 2, 2023 at 10:32 p.m.
Warsaw BOW Awards Bid For Center Lake Trailway Project
By David [email protected]
City engineer Aaron Ott told the board the bids consisted of base bids and four mandatory add alternate bids. The bidders on the project were from G & G Hauling & Excavating, Warsaw, and R Yoder Construction.
“After review of the bids by both city staff and myself, as well as our consultant, A & Z Engineering, we found both bids were fully responsive and R Yoder was the low bid,” Ott said.
The city has not worked with R Yoder before, but he said their references gave them favorable recommendation.
“R Yoder would have been the low bid in any scenario of the base bid plus alternates. What we’ve been bouncing as a city is what made the most sense which alternates to award, along with the project. Consideration of where the funding is at and everything with the project,” Ott said.
Both bids came in higher than the engineer’s estimate, which led the city to decide which alternates, if any, they felt made sense to award, he explained. “After the discussion, the conclusion was the base bid plus alternate No. 1,” he said. Alternate 1 is a type of railing versus alternate 2 being a more premium railing with lighting capabilities.
The alternates recommended not to be awarded were for the south and north piers. Ott said, “We feel it’s in the best interest to rebid those out with some additional information and hope we get more efficient bids on those two, as well as more time to put some funds into place.”
He said the recommendation from the city staff and A & Z was alternate 1 and the base bid for $974,870 from R Yoder Construction.
Board member George Clemens made the motion to approve the bid from R Yoder, Councilman Jeff Grose seconded it and it was approved 2-0. Mayor Joe Thallemer was absent from Friday’s meeting.
Ott said they will get back to R Yoder and get a contract, which he hoped would be presented to the board at their next meeting, June 16. Once the contract is approved, R Yoder will be given the notice to proceed. He said they hope to get bids on the north and south piers by August.
The Center Lake Trailway is a step in enhancing the lakefront. It involves a trail that goes along the lakefront, much like Winona Lake, but it’s more curve than linear. It meanders along the lake and enhances the beach so it’s more walkable. It will provide ADA access to the north side of the Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion so it will make the whole area nicer, according to City Planner Justin Taylor after the May 5 board meeting.
The trail will be multimodal and wider than a sidewalk at about 10 feet wide. If someone wanted to ride their bike along the trail, the extra width will allow them to do that without being the trail being congested.
The trail will start at the Buffalo Street Plaza, wrap around the southeast side of the lake and go to where the boat launch is off of Ind. 15.
The Board of Works approved to take a bid from Phend & Brown for Community Crossings state grant street projects under advisement. The total base bid is $824,729.73 and it was the only bid received.
Ott said the bid was within the engineer’s estimate, and he knows Phend & Brown does good work, so he felt comfortable he would be back before the board at their next meeting to ask them to award the bid.
In other business, the board approved:
• Project coordination contract amendment 2 between the city of Warsaw and state of Indiana. Taylor said it related to the Lincoln Elementary School sidewalk project that they’ve been working on the last few years.
“We finally got an awardable bid, so this contract before you today enables the state to pay more money to pay for the contract. It’s an 80/20 split, so the state will pay 80% of the contract, and the local match will be 20,” Taylor said.
The total cost of the project is $3,276,784, with the federal aid providing $2,620,810.80 of the cost and the local match to be $665,973.20.
“So this amendment basically brings what they’re going to allocate from $1.1 million to that $2.6 million to help fund our project,” Taylor said.
He said it’s about 2 miles of sidewalk.
“It is substantial, and as they encourage walkability for the students, we want to make sure they have a place to walk,” Taylor said.
Grose, whose council district the sidewalk is in, said residents have been asking about the sidewalk and are excited.
• Paying the fourth and final disbursement to GM Development, the city’s Build Operate Transfer (BOT) contractor, for the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department’s maintenance and administration building. The payment is in the amount of $365,000.
Ott said the facility has been completed and the parks employees are in the process of moving in.
The total cost of the project was $3,650,000.
A special claim for the final payment also was approved by the board.
• A request from Cold Delights, an out-of-county mobile ice cream business, to reduce the peddler’s permit fee for their seasonal business from $1,000 to $300. This is the third year Cold Delights has made the request and the city approved it.
• For the Warsaw Police Department to apply for a Patrick Leahy Bullet Proof Vest Partnership grant. It is a 50% matching grant, and funds from the grant will be used to help support the purchase of eight vests for replacement and/or new hires.
• A quote from Kerlin Ford for a Ford F-550 4x4 crew cab for $86,969.88 subject to prior sale and a quote from Kerlin Ford for a Ford F-550 4x4 cab chassis for $53,404.96, subject to prior sale, as recommended by Public Utilities Superintendent Dustin Dillon.
• The Warsaw Street Department’s request to purchase two dump bodies with spreaders and plows from W.A. Jones Truck Bodies and Equipment for $47,712 each for a total of $95,424.
• A pay application for $8,180 to Wessler Engineering for the sewer plant expansion project, as requested by Utility Superintendent Brian Davison.
• A pay application from HRP Construction in the amount of $103,911 for the lift station project that will provide sanitary sewer to the Warsaw Municipal Airport. The funds will be paid out of the State Revolving Fund monies allocated to the project, according to Warsaw Community Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner.
• Approved the new hire and change in payroll report from the Warsaw Human Resource Department regarding the police department. Three officers obtained their drone and operator certifications so a drone stipend was added to their pay. Custodian Michael Apeland also received a merit increase.
Other employee changes from other departments were delayed to the June 16 meeting because board members did not have any information on them.
City engineer Aaron Ott told the board the bids consisted of base bids and four mandatory add alternate bids. The bidders on the project were from G & G Hauling & Excavating, Warsaw, and R Yoder Construction.
“After review of the bids by both city staff and myself, as well as our consultant, A & Z Engineering, we found both bids were fully responsive and R Yoder was the low bid,” Ott said.
The city has not worked with R Yoder before, but he said their references gave them favorable recommendation.
“R Yoder would have been the low bid in any scenario of the base bid plus alternates. What we’ve been bouncing as a city is what made the most sense which alternates to award, along with the project. Consideration of where the funding is at and everything with the project,” Ott said.
Both bids came in higher than the engineer’s estimate, which led the city to decide which alternates, if any, they felt made sense to award, he explained. “After the discussion, the conclusion was the base bid plus alternate No. 1,” he said. Alternate 1 is a type of railing versus alternate 2 being a more premium railing with lighting capabilities.
The alternates recommended not to be awarded were for the south and north piers. Ott said, “We feel it’s in the best interest to rebid those out with some additional information and hope we get more efficient bids on those two, as well as more time to put some funds into place.”
He said the recommendation from the city staff and A & Z was alternate 1 and the base bid for $974,870 from R Yoder Construction.
Board member George Clemens made the motion to approve the bid from R Yoder, Councilman Jeff Grose seconded it and it was approved 2-0. Mayor Joe Thallemer was absent from Friday’s meeting.
Ott said they will get back to R Yoder and get a contract, which he hoped would be presented to the board at their next meeting, June 16. Once the contract is approved, R Yoder will be given the notice to proceed. He said they hope to get bids on the north and south piers by August.
The Center Lake Trailway is a step in enhancing the lakefront. It involves a trail that goes along the lakefront, much like Winona Lake, but it’s more curve than linear. It meanders along the lake and enhances the beach so it’s more walkable. It will provide ADA access to the north side of the Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion so it will make the whole area nicer, according to City Planner Justin Taylor after the May 5 board meeting.
The trail will be multimodal and wider than a sidewalk at about 10 feet wide. If someone wanted to ride their bike along the trail, the extra width will allow them to do that without being the trail being congested.
The trail will start at the Buffalo Street Plaza, wrap around the southeast side of the lake and go to where the boat launch is off of Ind. 15.
The Board of Works approved to take a bid from Phend & Brown for Community Crossings state grant street projects under advisement. The total base bid is $824,729.73 and it was the only bid received.
Ott said the bid was within the engineer’s estimate, and he knows Phend & Brown does good work, so he felt comfortable he would be back before the board at their next meeting to ask them to award the bid.
In other business, the board approved:
• Project coordination contract amendment 2 between the city of Warsaw and state of Indiana. Taylor said it related to the Lincoln Elementary School sidewalk project that they’ve been working on the last few years.
“We finally got an awardable bid, so this contract before you today enables the state to pay more money to pay for the contract. It’s an 80/20 split, so the state will pay 80% of the contract, and the local match will be 20,” Taylor said.
The total cost of the project is $3,276,784, with the federal aid providing $2,620,810.80 of the cost and the local match to be $665,973.20.
“So this amendment basically brings what they’re going to allocate from $1.1 million to that $2.6 million to help fund our project,” Taylor said.
He said it’s about 2 miles of sidewalk.
“It is substantial, and as they encourage walkability for the students, we want to make sure they have a place to walk,” Taylor said.
Grose, whose council district the sidewalk is in, said residents have been asking about the sidewalk and are excited.
• Paying the fourth and final disbursement to GM Development, the city’s Build Operate Transfer (BOT) contractor, for the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department’s maintenance and administration building. The payment is in the amount of $365,000.
Ott said the facility has been completed and the parks employees are in the process of moving in.
The total cost of the project was $3,650,000.
A special claim for the final payment also was approved by the board.
• A request from Cold Delights, an out-of-county mobile ice cream business, to reduce the peddler’s permit fee for their seasonal business from $1,000 to $300. This is the third year Cold Delights has made the request and the city approved it.
• For the Warsaw Police Department to apply for a Patrick Leahy Bullet Proof Vest Partnership grant. It is a 50% matching grant, and funds from the grant will be used to help support the purchase of eight vests for replacement and/or new hires.
• A quote from Kerlin Ford for a Ford F-550 4x4 crew cab for $86,969.88 subject to prior sale and a quote from Kerlin Ford for a Ford F-550 4x4 cab chassis for $53,404.96, subject to prior sale, as recommended by Public Utilities Superintendent Dustin Dillon.
• The Warsaw Street Department’s request to purchase two dump bodies with spreaders and plows from W.A. Jones Truck Bodies and Equipment for $47,712 each for a total of $95,424.
• A pay application for $8,180 to Wessler Engineering for the sewer plant expansion project, as requested by Utility Superintendent Brian Davison.
• A pay application from HRP Construction in the amount of $103,911 for the lift station project that will provide sanitary sewer to the Warsaw Municipal Airport. The funds will be paid out of the State Revolving Fund monies allocated to the project, according to Warsaw Community Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner.
• Approved the new hire and change in payroll report from the Warsaw Human Resource Department regarding the police department. Three officers obtained their drone and operator certifications so a drone stipend was added to their pay. Custodian Michael Apeland also received a merit increase.
Other employee changes from other departments were delayed to the June 16 meeting because board members did not have any information on them.
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