ThisWeek CW 08/13/2015
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/08/10/city-negotiates-lower-price-for-new-building.html
Canal Winchester officials found more than $100,000 in cost savings during final contract negotiations for the city’s new Public Works facility.
Canal Winchester City Council voted unanimously Aug. 3 to approve contract changes removing more than $100,000 in work initially proposed by the Ferguson Construction Co., the project contractor, that city officials considered “redundant,” according to Public Works Director Matt Peoples.
He said the initial contract included several services the city had already completed prior to the bid process.
Additionally, negotiations altered the payment schedule to allow the city to make a significantly smaller up-front investment, retaining interest-bearing funds longer before transferring them to the builder.
“We’re going to be saving about $120,000 total as part of this deal,” Peoples said.
Contract documents show that the overall contract price has been lowered and the guaranteed maximum price for the preliminary services agreement has decreased from $345,000 to $330,000.
Originally the guaranteed maximum price in the preliminary services agreement was due at the beginning of the contract, but the negotiated change means the city will only be responsible for $15,000 up front with the potential remaining maximum funds of $315,000 due at the end of the preliminary services completion.
“Ferguson was in the middle of the three proposals we received in terms of price, but they were the most responsive to our needs so this change puts them that much better overall,” Peoples said.
“When they put in their final bid, there was a lot we thought was redundant so we kept talking to them about it,” he added. “So now, instead of paying $345,000 up front we’re only paying $15,000 up front, so we’ll get to keep our money a little longer as well as saving money.”
Council agreed to approve the contract change as an emergency measure, thus waiving the usual three readings of the ordinance so construction could start immediately. Peoples said the building should be ready to move into this fall.