Chief
12-10-2007, 09:41 AM
http://www.cityofvancouver.us/councilmeetings.asp?menuid=10462&submenuID=10474&itemID=47466
3. Firstenburg Community Center, construction acceptance and release of retainage
(Staff Report 222-07 --- attached on pink paper.)
Summary:
The 80,000 square foot community center was an excellent example of a public-private partnership with funding sources that included Real Estate Excise Tax revenues, state grants, and several generous private donations, most notably a $3,000,000 gift from Ed and Mary Firstenburg, founders of First Independent Bank. The facility was designed by Opsis Architecture, with construction management by KJM & Associates.
Council awarded a construction contract to Berschauer Phillips Construction Company June 21, 2004, and notice to proceed was issued on July 9, 2004. Substantial completion of the center was achieved on February 13, 2006, and the facility was opened to the public shortly thereafter. The contractor continued to work on remaining punch list items and the final commissioning of the facility took place earlier this year.
The original construction contract bid amount was $16,724,922.55. Field adjustments and contract change orders increased the amount 6.8% to $17,946,275.87.
Action Requested:
Accept construction as complete in accordance with contract plans and specifications and authorize release of retainage in the amount of $832,844.85 to Berschauer Phillips Construction Company of Olympia, Washington, subject to all releases required by state law, and authorize the City Manager or his designee to finalize the settlement agreement with the contractor. (Vicki Vanneman, Center Director and Project Manager, 487-7099 and Dave Miletich, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation, 619-1122)
Looks reasonable and customary to me. Why litigate over relative minutae, when the City will owe most of the retainage anyway, and will only accrue legal fees in addition to. The benefits that the Firstenburg Center has provided the community in the reatively brief time it's been in operation far outweigh any potential legal benefit that a lawsuit might bring.
Smart move, pay the bill and move on.
On the other hand, I can hear the outraged howls building right now from the usual suspects, who absolutely hate everything to do with the Firstenburg Center, and will never agree to anything the City of Vancouver spends on it. You know who they are, and have read their letters to the editor before on this topic.
Stand by for more of the same...
3. Firstenburg Community Center, construction acceptance and release of retainage
(Staff Report 222-07 --- attached on pink paper.)
Summary:
The 80,000 square foot community center was an excellent example of a public-private partnership with funding sources that included Real Estate Excise Tax revenues, state grants, and several generous private donations, most notably a $3,000,000 gift from Ed and Mary Firstenburg, founders of First Independent Bank. The facility was designed by Opsis Architecture, with construction management by KJM & Associates.
Council awarded a construction contract to Berschauer Phillips Construction Company June 21, 2004, and notice to proceed was issued on July 9, 2004. Substantial completion of the center was achieved on February 13, 2006, and the facility was opened to the public shortly thereafter. The contractor continued to work on remaining punch list items and the final commissioning of the facility took place earlier this year.
The original construction contract bid amount was $16,724,922.55. Field adjustments and contract change orders increased the amount 6.8% to $17,946,275.87.
Action Requested:
Accept construction as complete in accordance with contract plans and specifications and authorize release of retainage in the amount of $832,844.85 to Berschauer Phillips Construction Company of Olympia, Washington, subject to all releases required by state law, and authorize the City Manager or his designee to finalize the settlement agreement with the contractor. (Vicki Vanneman, Center Director and Project Manager, 487-7099 and Dave Miletich, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation, 619-1122)
Looks reasonable and customary to me. Why litigate over relative minutae, when the City will owe most of the retainage anyway, and will only accrue legal fees in addition to. The benefits that the Firstenburg Center has provided the community in the reatively brief time it's been in operation far outweigh any potential legal benefit that a lawsuit might bring.
Smart move, pay the bill and move on.
On the other hand, I can hear the outraged howls building right now from the usual suspects, who absolutely hate everything to do with the Firstenburg Center, and will never agree to anything the City of Vancouver spends on it. You know who they are, and have read their letters to the editor before on this topic.
Stand by for more of the same...