by Mayor Greg Beaner
Editor’s Note: The following is a Q&A of the most pressing questions about the recent termination of the contract with Haarsma Construction.
What is the current status of the construction project?
The 3rd Street/Main Avenue project consisted of 2 phases. The first phase was 3rd Street and included water, sewer, asphalt, sidewalk, curb and gutter. The second phase was the north end of Main Ave and the truck route going south out of town. Phase 1 has been mostly completed by Haarsma Construction, but there are a few small things left to touch up. Haarsma Construction was declared in default of their contract and the project was turned over to the bond company.
Who will continue the project?
The bond company used by Haarsma Construction was Hudson Surety. Hudson Surety sent a representative and consulting engineer last week to develop a plan to complete the project. The city’s lawyer, engineers from Sayre and Associates, Craig, Anna and myself met with the representative in an extensive meeting on September 16th. Doug and Cole from Sayre and Associates gave Hudson Surety a list of contractors who could finish the project in a competent manner and as quickly as possible. The bidding process is private and will be done by Hudson Surety. This means that they are not required to pick the lowest bid, but they will be picking the most capable contractor.
What is the estimated timeline to complete the project?
The project will be put out to bid in November. A private pre-construction meeting will be held prior to the start of the bidding process to answer questions of the contractors who may be interested in bidding on the project. The plan is to begin work on the project in the spring of 2020 with project completion by the end of the summer 2020. Of course this is an estimate and not a finalized plan.
Who will be in charge?
The current engineer is Sayre and Associates with Cole being their supervising engineer. Sayre and Associates will continue to be the project engineer for the city. Hopefully the project will continue as it was initially intended. The city will still be allowed to make changes in the project as they are needed and will also have all legal rights if the project has major difficulties or problems.
Who will be responsible for the cost of the construction project?
The city will only be responsible to pay the cost of the initial bid. Contractor prices have increased significantly due to a lack of contractors and an abundance of jobs in the area. Moving forward any increase to the cost of the project will be paid by Hudson Surety. This will include cost overages and any price increases with the new bidder.
At the meeting with the bond agency many difficult questions were asked addressing various concerns of citizens and business owners. The Hudson Surety representative assured us that it is in their best interest to complete the project as quickly and efficiently as possible. A couple of things that the bond company is looking for in a contractor: an experienced utility crew and a company with the resources to use as few sub-contractors as possible. The city will continue to update everyone as we move forward. Thank you for your patience with this project, and we are working hard to do what is best for our community.
