Downtown phase II gets initial OK – Board moves forward despite Kirby?s objection
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Despite Kirby?s objections, McMinnville?s Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 4-2 on Tuesday to proceed with phase II as planned. That means keeping EG&G on board as the project engineer.
The ordinance still has to pass second reading before taking effect.
Kirby contends the city can save a significant amount of money by using a company other than EG&G.
?If I had two qualified engineers that were equally capable of doing the job,? said Kirby, ?and I could get this done for $200,000 or $600,000, I would rather get this done for $200,000. There is nothing wrong with using one company to do the preliminary and having someone else do the work.?
Alderman Patti Nunley says the quality of EG&G?s work is visible with a simple drive down Main Street. She wants to stick with EG&G instead of changing to an unknown company and hoping for the best.
?I would hate for us to spend half of this money and get a shoddy job,? said Nunley.
Kirby says he is fully in favor of moving forward with phase II. However, according to his findings, the city could save as much as $400,000 by going with another engineering firm.
?When I do the numbers, their fees amount to about $625,000,? said Kirby of phase II estimates. ?That?s almost 18 percent. That?s too much.?
Since the project hasn?t been finalized, the numbers submitted to the city are only an estimate. That includes the final $4.2 million price tag.
According to Kirby, EG&G will be charging for work done by McMinnville Electric System. MES work estimated at $1.2 million will net EG&G $219,000, even though they will do none of the engineering.
The city will also be paying EG&G $28,476 on top of $360,000 paid to water and sewer consultant James C. Haley, even though EG&G will be doing none of that engineering.
?James C. Haley said he didn?t need anything from the engineering portion to do the water and sewer,? said Kirby. ?That?s double dipping. We don?t need to pay them. Why are we paying them? I can?t get an answer. That?s what I want to explore.?
Even though Kirby said it would be ?financially irresponsible? to pass an ordinance to enter into a contract with EG&G, city officials voted 4-2 in favor of doing that. Nunley, Billy Wood, Jimmy Haley and Mayor Royce Davenport voted for the measure. Kirby and Rick Barnes voted against it.
Doubts were raised that a new company could get the ARC Grant application ready by the January deadline. EG&G has already done much of the application work for the $600,000 grant.
?I?m not against what you are saying Bobby, or your numbers,? said Haley. ?But if we save $400,000 and lose $600,000, what have we gained??
The ordinance will have to pass one more vote before the contract can be signed.
In an effort to get city officials to better understand his stance, Kirby has gotten a joint committee meeting scheduled between the Finance Committee, Street and Sanitation Committee and Water and Wastewater Committee to discuss phase II.
The meeting is set for Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 7:35 p.m. at city hall.
Phase II breakdown – Steps A though F and their costs for phase II of the downtown revitalization project:
? A – Program and organize project and
? B – Survey will cost $57,000
? C – Prepare schematics and
? D – Prepare design development documents/preliminary engineering will cost $76,900
? E – Prepare final construction documents, final engineering documents: Drawings and specifications will cost $196,000
? F – Provide bidding services will cost $12,500
? Geotechnical services (core borings and report from geotechnical firm) will cost $6,000