Senior center construction work comes in under budget

At its first meeting of 2015, held on Thursday, January 8, the Village Board of Trustees approved nine supplemental work orders for the new senior center project on Golf Club Lane. As a result the original contract price for the project dropped from $450,000 to $439,300. Deputy Mayor Episcopia examined the details.

"What we received from Recreation was a list of costs, both positive and negative. We had deductions and savings with the building of the basement. When you take a look at the original contract and spreadsheet we received from deBruin Engineering, there's $275,000 for the building foundation. When someone takes a look at that, you begin to wonder why it was that much. Was it a lot of overhead, or did it have to do with the gravel, the moving, and roads?" he asked.

Kevin Ocker, chairman of the board of commissioners of Garden City Parks and Recreation, explained that the $275,000 was the price of the bid for the installation of the building's foundation for the contractor. Afterward the project was "value-engineered" to reduce the scope of work for the foundation.

"The total job awarded to the contractor was $450,000. When we backed out the credits or savings we achieved for the foundation, and with all of the small change orders in front of the board this evening, the net effect is that the contract will come in about $19,100 under budget. Most of the items have had to be done already with construction going on," Ocker said.

The credits for revising the original foundation resulted in a supplemental work order for a credit of $60,000, with less excavation, backfilling, shoring, underpinning and concrete work needed.

There was also a credit of $7,600 for concrete and footings of the building's attached porches, which were removed when the building was moved from its former place as the model house for DoubleDay Court Condominiums.

The senior center's drains and drywall were completed on Wednesday, January 7. Two drywells for the stairwell to the senior center's basement is the next step, as outlined by a $1300 supplemental work order.

In addition, with the excavation of the building's foundation an abandoned well was found. To fill the well the contractor needed to use 186 yards of pea gravel and cap it with concrete, for a cost of $8,400. Ocker told the board that work will be charged to the water enterprise fund.

The other supplemental work orders covered the following: $3,500 for dampproofing foundation walls; $1,700 for the installation of columns; $1,200 for the installation of foundation air vents; and

The main outlier with the senior center is a new roof, for which the cost has not been agreed to with deBruin Engineering. The roof was not included as part of the original contract, and Ocker says his department's subcommittee will discuss the options for a renovated roof or a new roof.

Go here to see the original:
Senior center construction work comes in under budget