Logan County Courthouse restoration contracts delayed by supply issues and soaring costs

 

[February 21, 2022] 

At the Logan County Board Workshop on Thursday, February 10, Logan County Courthouse Restoration Project Manager Bill Walter gave the board an update on overall project status, pricing issues, delays and contracts they are working on.

Walter said he had hoped the wrapping of the dome would be done by the end of this week.

Inside view of the wrap

Wrap near the top

Close-up view of the wrap

However, it will likely be completed next week. Weather delays have put them slightly behind.

For the copper replacement on the dome, Walter has received three bids so far, which he is somewhat disappointed about. High prices are resulting from supply issues with the copper material as well as labor. These are becoming increasingly serious issues for many contractors.

A couple years ago when the county started looking into the dome restoration, Walter was looking at a 10 to 12 week time frame for getting copper. Now, Walter said supply chain issues, along with elevated price points, have caused an eight to 10 month back up on copper.
 

Two contractors have mentioned they have a good portion of the copper in hand. Unless Walter knows he will have the materials, he does not have a lot of confidence in starting a project. Walter is trying to figure out how quickly he can get the rest of the materials.

The prices of copper do not make Walter happy either. At one point, Walter contacted a company in Ohio, but they found it necessary to bow out of contention.

Another recently contacted company in Ohio may be able to do the work and is interested in submitting a proposal. Walter said their conceptual price appears to be much more in line than the other quotes he has received.

When Walter is considering quotes on the work, he does not want to recommend prices that are potentially 40 percent higher than they should be. Walter will not bring bids forward until he has exhausted every possible avenue.

The work that will be done on the cupola is still on schedule. Walter said they have secured those necessary materials. The contractor is currently in the process of fabricating and manipulating the copper to the right configurations.

Walter and the Construction Technical Committee are not quite to the point they want to be at on the dome contracting portion. Because of that, the scaffolding company has relieved the county of two months’ rent on the scaffolding.

The Performance Contract with CTS, the HVAC package, electrical and plumbing has been presented for review. Walter, Building and Grounds Chairman David Blankenship and the Tech Committee have received quite a bit of information from CTS.

CTS has put together five legitimate alternate programs. Walter said the programs are different combinations of heating procedures, mechanisms and equipment. He and the committee keep in constant contact with CTS to work through each and determine which method will provide the optimum solution for the county.

Monday, February 14, Walter was scheduled to have a virtual meeting with CTS and hoped to have one method selected. He hopes to bring that method and the costs forward to the board soon.

Prices that have been presented for the Performance Contract are higher than what Walter hoped for. Walter and several other members of MRTS are doing calculations with other contractors. What they want to see is if the price that has been submitted is valid in today’s Lincoln, Illinois market.

When Walter gets that information back and CTS is within a price range he and the tech committee consider reasonable, he will bring the contract forward. Walter said he would not be a good steward, for the county if he brought forward prices that are too high even if they were for the best products.

The Construction Management portion contract that covers everything else is on track. The contract documents are 99 percent complete, and Walter is in the process of completing a review of those plans.
 

Once Walter finishes reviewing those plans, he will bring the information forward to the tech committee, then the building and grounds committee and finally the board.

Nothing in the horizon makes Walter think they will get a display of prices for the construction management work that will knock their socks off. To get better prices from qualified people for this work along with the copper and HVAC, Walter said he may have to continue to go further distances. The price quotes from some contractors are showing higher than they want.

Board member Dale Nelson wanted to know when Walter and the contractors expected to be done using the scaffolding. He is concerned about the rental fees for scaffolding especially since the county has been waiting months for the copper.

With the scaffolding, Walter said it depends on when he gets satisfactory bids and on delivery dates for materials. He told contractors it is the intention to be done by October 15 of this year.

Since prices are coming in high, Nelson also asked how much the county is over the estimated project costs. Nelson asked how much we are over on costs for what has been completed so far. He also wanted to know if total project costs are over what was expected.

After completing the process of getting pricing and contractors, Walter said he would know more. For the work on the dome, Walter said costs are looking like they are going to be 40 percent higher than they had estimated.

So far since public bids have not been approved, Building and Grounds Chairman David Blankenship said he cannot give a definitive answer. It is hard to tell how much costs will be over budget for the work not yet contracted for.

Due to inflation, Blankenship said it is impossible to keep costs down. At this point, he is not sure how much the total project may cost. All concerned are working to keep project costs at the lowest possible level.

As a reference, the original costs anticipated for the dome restoration were between $1.4 million and $1.6 million. Walter said even with the best prices submitted, it is now around $2.1M.

A few years ago, the bid one company gave for the dome restoration was $3.5M, so Blankenship said we are still lower than that amount. They are trying to be diligent and keep costs down, but Blankenship said it is difficult.
 

Walter, Blankenship and the Tech Committee are working slowly and methodically on plans, so Blankenship said patience is needed. If rapid steps are taken, Blankenship said they could find themselves running the risk of much higher costs.

For the scaffolding and cupola contracts, Walter said they have fixed contract amounts. These are well within the budget. He is still working on dome bids to get the best quality for the best price.

In the industry, some contractors unfortunately seem to provide bids with prices that are higher than what the market should tolerate. Walter said they are trying to find contractors who are able to provide the most accurate prices. He is trying to bring the best prices to the board. What that means is a continued exhaustive search for contractors.

[Angela Reiners with photos by Reiners and Bill Walter]