MONROE - Aldermen voted for the city to fix City Hall themselves rather than find a private company to complete work on the failed flooring project meant to be completed over a year ago.
The decision was made following a 20-minute closed-session discussion over the sole offer made by Keegan Installations of Monroe to lay new flooring tile and deal with the adhesive issue in the building. Alderman Jeff Newcomer moved for "the city of Monroe to complete the work ourselves."
Monroe Common Council members found Keegan's proposal to be "unresponsive," basically designating the contract offer as inadequate in comparison to the requests city staff had specified for the work. One such requirement was completion of the work within 30 days. Keegan had quoted 120 days, with the possibility of taking even longer. Tests Keegan requested the city do at its own expense could have also drawn out the timeline.
Rather than request new bids, council members declared the work would be done by city employees. Which ones are yet to be determined, City Administrator Phil Rath said, though he noted anyone with experience in similar labor would be best.
Mayor Louis Armstrong said because the winter months create more availability for laborers with the city, there will be time for employees to complete the work.
Rath did not have an estimate but said the costs would "hopefully be less" than proposed by any company looking to do the work. He added that a person with experience in flooring installation may be hired to oversee the project, but because the idea of recruiting city employees to finish the job is relatively new, he did not have exact numbers.
City staff would be paid regular wages for their work on the flooring.
The failed project began in August 2016. The proposed work was meant to take about six weeks. The city hired KPH Environmental and Construction to remove asbestos from City Hall flooring tile, but the project hit a snag once the original flooring was removed. A majority of the flooring material would not adhere to the ground, despite repeated attempts to use the adhesive. In some corners of the building, KPH noted, it stuck too well.
Negotiations to bring in new materials or sub-flooring were conducted between KPH contractor Dan Scharf and the council, but the city rejected both change orders, which would have cost an additional $163,000. The original project estimate was about $150,000. The city declared KPH Environmental at fault for the work and made a claim with the company's surety, Liberty Mutual. The insurance company denied the claim in mid-July, prompting further legal action by the city that is still being pursued.
There is not a specific timeline for city employees to finish the work, Rath said. He added it will take about two weeks to begin the work, because the city does not currently have flooring materials.
The decision was made following a 20-minute closed-session discussion over the sole offer made by Keegan Installations of Monroe to lay new flooring tile and deal with the adhesive issue in the building. Alderman Jeff Newcomer moved for "the city of Monroe to complete the work ourselves."
Monroe Common Council members found Keegan's proposal to be "unresponsive," basically designating the contract offer as inadequate in comparison to the requests city staff had specified for the work. One such requirement was completion of the work within 30 days. Keegan had quoted 120 days, with the possibility of taking even longer. Tests Keegan requested the city do at its own expense could have also drawn out the timeline.
Rather than request new bids, council members declared the work would be done by city employees. Which ones are yet to be determined, City Administrator Phil Rath said, though he noted anyone with experience in similar labor would be best.
Mayor Louis Armstrong said because the winter months create more availability for laborers with the city, there will be time for employees to complete the work.
Rath did not have an estimate but said the costs would "hopefully be less" than proposed by any company looking to do the work. He added that a person with experience in flooring installation may be hired to oversee the project, but because the idea of recruiting city employees to finish the job is relatively new, he did not have exact numbers.
City staff would be paid regular wages for their work on the flooring.
The failed project began in August 2016. The proposed work was meant to take about six weeks. The city hired KPH Environmental and Construction to remove asbestos from City Hall flooring tile, but the project hit a snag once the original flooring was removed. A majority of the flooring material would not adhere to the ground, despite repeated attempts to use the adhesive. In some corners of the building, KPH noted, it stuck too well.
Negotiations to bring in new materials or sub-flooring were conducted between KPH contractor Dan Scharf and the council, but the city rejected both change orders, which would have cost an additional $163,000. The original project estimate was about $150,000. The city declared KPH Environmental at fault for the work and made a claim with the company's surety, Liberty Mutual. The insurance company denied the claim in mid-July, prompting further legal action by the city that is still being pursued.
There is not a specific timeline for city employees to finish the work, Rath said. He added it will take about two weeks to begin the work, because the city does not currently have flooring materials.