MOUNT VERNON — Long lead times and weather conditions are the catalysts for splitting the cost of Mount Vernon’s new police station into two price packages.
Instead of obtaining one guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the entire project, the city’s construction team asked city council to approve an initial $6 million package covering work that cannot wait.
The team consists of Pizzutti Solutions, the city, design firm BKB and CMAR (construction manager at risk) CK Construction.
“This first GMP constitutes some early site work that’s necessary to activate the site and to take advantage of the favorable summer weather,” Pizzutti Solutions Vice President Cigarette Parks said on Monday.
“There’s some scope that we need to get in the ground before the ground freezes, and we can no longer work on it.”
That work includes demolishing an existing building and site leveling.
The GMP also includes early procurement for some items:
• Rebar for the concrete.
• Mechanical equipment, including a rooftop unit and an air handling unit.
• Generator.
According to Parks, generators have a 39-to-40 week lead time.
Parks said the $6,057,876 package represents 20 percent of the total project.
Initial project estimates were $29 million. However, that number is down to $26 million due to what Parks called “a pretty extensive value management exercise to refine some scope.”
When asked why they were not voting on a complete package, Parks said multiple GMPs on projects of this size and complexity are common. However, too many GMPs push the final project cost too far out for most people to be comfortable with.
“Things like [price] escalation and contractor availability sometimes jeopardize that final number,” she said.
Parks anticipates having a second and final GMP in August.
Council members question process and transparency
The construction schedule assumes activating the site on July 20.
Activating the site means establishing site boundaries and environmental management procedures for the Ohio EPA, setting up a job trailer, and site leveling.
It also includes demolishing a modular unit that Kno-Ho-Co-Ashland previously used as an office building.
In April, council members pulled a resolution to sell the building and opted to explore it for city use.
Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers told Knox Pages on Tuesday that the city looked at reuse options and numerous departments passed on utilizing it. The administration therefore opted to demolish it.
Council members added the legislation to the agenda on Monday and passed it with the emergency clause after suspending the required three readings.
Councilman Dale Miller questioned voting on the legislation without having a committee meeting to discuss it, saying he was concerned the public would consider it a transparency issue.
“You can have a committee meeting on any topic without legislation being on the agenda,” Salyers responded. “We’ve long anticipated a GMP for this project.”
Councilman James Mahan, chair of the Finance and Budget Committee, said the GMP is one step in a long process.
“I feel like we’ve been very in front of the public on this [process]. This is part of that,” he said.
Putting guardrails on cost
Councilman Taylor Jacklin asked how the city mitigates the risk of increased costs toward the end of the process.
“Our [CMAR] partner CK is very clear that Mount Vernon has established a budget for this project, and it’s a not to exceed number,” Parks said.
Contractors who submitted pricing agreed to hold their pricing until the construction team validated scopes and reviewed pricing for appropriateness and completeness.
Additionally, there is a 2 percent built-in contingency in the GMP to cover “known unknowns” such as adverse weather or labor conditions.
“The only way that a GMP can exceed the owner’s budget is because of owner-driven changes,” Parks said.
She said if the city wants additional signage, for example, the city can either add it to the project or pay for it through another budget.
