PORT TOWNSEND — Three contractors have submitted bids for the repair of Memorial Field’s grandstand roof, but the scope of the project still depends on available funds, say county officials.
The three bids, opened Monday during the county commissioners’ meeting, will now be examined by county staff, after which time a recommendation on which to accept will be issued.
“One of the things that the county needs to look at is the availability of funds and balancing the cost of the different options,” said County Administrator Philip Morley after the bids were opened.
The project’s aim is to replace the covering structure attached to the field’s grandstands, which is in poor condition and could be blown down, engineers said.
The three contractors whose bids were opened Monday are John Lupo Construction and Rognlin’s Inc., both of Aberdeen, and Primo Construction of Carlsborg, which was a previous bidder.
Primo was the low bidder for the complete project at $299,309 followed by $386,405 from Rognlin’s and Lupo’s $408,354.
The engineers’ estimate was $328,166.
The project has four parts: the basic bid and three alternatives.
The basic bid involves the removal of the current roof along with the repair and painting of the grandstand’s structural frame.
This is the essential part of the project. If it is completed without the three alternatives, the grandstand structure would operate without a roof until funds became available for its construction.
The alternatives that were bid separately included the replacement of the roof, treatment of the steel to neutralize airborne salt and replacement of all steel cross-bracing that was not covered by the base bid.
After a bid is selected, the work will begin weather permitting, according to Public Works Director Monte Reinders.
While the combination of alternatives will be selected based on funding, the basic job is due for completion by the beginning of June 2015.
The roof replacement, should it be undertaken at the same time as the base work, is expected to be finished in mid July 2015, Reinders said.
One funding source for the project is Proposition 1, a 2010 voter-approved measure that raised the Jefferson County sales tax by 0.03 percent to 9 percent — the highest on the North Olympic Peninsula.
The funds were approved for public safety and youth and senior services.
The city has provided about $212,000 annually from its share of the increase for maintenance and operation of Memorial Field and the Port Townsend Recreation Center, both county-owned facilities that are within the city limit.
That revenue will end in 2015. No substitute funding has been secured.
This is the third time the project has been opened to bidding.
During the first bidding process in May, engineer Scott Headrick discovered structural instabilities in beams that he believed constituted an emergency situation requiring condemning the grandstand. This led to the closure of the structure that continues today.
A second bidding process in July yielded two bids that exceeded the engineer’s estimated cost.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
