By HOLLY GASKILL
After two rounds of bidding for the highway garage, the county council was able to approve a guaranteed maximum price of $9.5 million.
The county council specified that this amount included the construction costs only, following a late revision from Highway Supervisor Shawn Bonar during their Tuesday meeting.
Bonar said he will get complete bids for soft costs of the project, like new furnishings, by the council’s Oct. 4 meeting. These costs were not originally included in Project Manager Conor Jackson’s bids to save on management costs.
The county council approved 15 of the 19 bid packages for construction.
Jackson plans to review bids for the overhead doors, landscaping and fencing because all received one bidder and came in much higher than expected. Bonar and Jackson discussed using the allocating funds to purchase landscaping equipment for the county, possibly completing the package internally.
Additionally, because of a significant discrepancy between the first and second bidders for the drywall and acoustical package, Jackson wants to review the bid and ensure the lowest bidder covered all specifications.
These updates were also presented to the commissioners during their Tuesday meeting. At that time, Commissioner Jeff Stringer said the commissioners were unable to specify if the garage will need the alternative to upgrade the water line for the City of Bluffton.
“I will call the mayor tomorrow and just see — I haven’t heard either way,” Stringer said. “If they don’t hurry up, it’s going to be what we need and that’s it.”
Excavation was able to begin last week for the project. Jackson forecasted the project to finish on Feb. 5, 2024, but, as a final note, the commissioners said they’d like construction to aim for completion by the end of 2023.
Bids for the garage were the following:
• PEMB and Steel Erection — Briner Building of Bluffton, $1,834,465; CME Corporation of Fort Wayne, $1848,400; and James S. Jackson Company, $1,454,293. James S. Jackson approved.
• Salt Storage Building — Greystone, $240,000. Approved as a sole bidder.
• Concrete — Bowman Construction Co. of Marion, Ind., $1,282,740 and Schmucker Construction of Fort Wayne, $1,469,359. Bowman approved.
• Precast Concrete Planks — StresCore of South Bend, Ind., $86,275. Approved as sole bidder.
• Masonry — Schmucker Construction of Fort Wayne, $279, 855; and FCI of Auburn, Ind, $300,000. Schmucker approved.
• General trades — CME Corporation of Fort Wayne, $272, 400. Approved as sole bidder.
• Overhead doors — RDC, $264,815.
• Glass and glazing — Hall Aluminum of Fort Wayne, $45,000; and City Class of Fort Wayne, $67,000 (incorrect submission). Hall Aluminum approved.
• Drywall and acoustical — Strahm Building Solutions of Fort Wayne, $297,800; and Jones Commercial Interiors of Berne, Ind., $167,550.
• Flooring — Jack Laurie Group of Fort Wayne, $79,285; and Strahm of Fort Wayne, $108,100. Jack Laurie Group approved.
• Painting — Strahm of Fort Wayne, $106,800; and F&S Painting of Berne, Ind. F&S approved.
• Fire protection — VFP Fire Systems, $204,443; and Current, $215,126. VFP approved.
• Mechanical — PDP of Fort Wayne, $1,449,000 base bid and $53,000 Alternate 2; Shambaugh & Son of Fort Wayne, $1,083,276 base bid and $64,989 Alternate 2; Precision Machining of Fort Wayne, $1,560,000 base bid and $86,900 Alternate 2; and A. Hattersley & Son of Fort Wayne, $1,217,404 base bid and $65,175 Alternate 2 (no financial statement). Shambaugh approved.
• Electrical — Service Electric of Fort Wayne, $136,500; 4TC of Portland, Ind, $829,000; and Coppersmith Electric of Berne, Ind., $1,060,000. 4TC approved.
• Excavation — Bunn Inc. of Fort Wayne, $1,273,367 base bid and $147,860 Alternate 1; Habig Trucking of Bluffton, $999,950 base bid and $145,500 Alternate 1; Cobalt Civil of Winchester, Ind, $1,246,296 base bid and $143,312 Alternate 1; VTF Excavation of Celina, Ohio, $1,844,612.92, no alternate; and Fleming Construction of Decatur, $2,318,757, no alternate. Habig approved.
• Paving — Wayne Asphalt & Construction of Fort Wayne, $42,000; and Brooks Construction of Bluffton, $39,326. Brooks approved.
• Fencing — Cobal Civil of Winchester, Ind, $72,023.
• Landscaping — Harlow Enterprises of Fort Wayne, $187,000.
holly@news-banner.com
