Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Hiccup for Heritage Corridor

Ketchum to conduct 2nd bid on downtown improvement project


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

It's not too common for a city to give contractors a second opportunity to bid on a municipal contract, but Ketchum is doing exactly that to save about $100,000.

After supporting a bid from Burks Excavation to carry out Phase 2 of the Fourth Street Heritage Corridor, City Engineer Steven Yearsley, of Forsgren Associates, recommended that the Ketchum City Council reject all bids and start the process once more.

Yearsley, speaking at a council meeting on Monday, April 7, explained that the electrician employed by Burks had yet to obtain a public works license, which is required by state code.

However, as the Burks bid came in at $548,726, over $100,000 cheaper than the next closest of the five bids, the council chose to reopen the bidding process in an attempt to keep costs as low as possible.

The second phase of construction of the three-stage Fourth Street Heritage Corridor will run from Leadville Avenue west across Main Street to Washington Avenue. The city budgeted $662,827 for this phase of the project, which will eventually span the entire length of the eight-block street from Spruce to Second Avenue.

Last summer the city began with construction on the two blocks from Walnut to Leadville avenues as the first part of its plan to create a more pedestrian-friendly town center by widening sidewalks, narrowing Fourth Street and adding new street lights and places for public art.

The overall cost of the project is estimated at $4.5 million, a portion of which is being paid through a $1 million loan from former City Councilman Steve Shafran to the Ketchum Urban Renewal Agency. City Attorney Ben Worst said that while he was unsure of the exact figures, a significant portion of the loan remained after last year's construction and would be available for the second phase.

The reopening of the bidding process creates an unusual situation for the participating contractors in that they now have seen the competition's bids.

While Councilman Larry Helzel pointed out that Burks was under no obligation to come back with the same figure, assuming the company takes care of the licensing problem before the deadline as it said it would, Yearsley said there most likely won't be much of a change.

"We'll probably have the higher bidders come down," he said.

Also a point of concern was the delay caused by the three weeks needed for the second wave of bidding, which has the potential to push the completion date past June 27, as currently designated in the contract. Yearsley suggested the city allow the completion date to be moved back to July 2, still in time for the Fourth on Fourth celebration.

Interim City Administrator Jim Jaquet said that once the contract has been awarded, the city could discuss possibly splitting the construction into two parts, with one part being done this spring and the rest during the fall.

Councilman Baird Gourlay requested a special council meeting on April 23, the deadline for the new bids, to award the contract and discuss the timing further.




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