PORT TOWNSEND — The three Jefferson County commissioners accepted a bid for the repair and renovation of the Memorial Field grandstand, with one commissioner opposed because he feels a new roof should not be included in the contract.
Public Works Director Monte Reinders said a contract with Primo Construction of Carlsborg should be developed within the next few weeks.
Primo Construction offered a total bid of $365,839, which includes the removal of the current roof and construction of a new one, as well reinforcing and painting the existing support structure.
Other bids for that work were from Rognlin’s of Aberdeen for $461,545 and Lupo Construction, also of Aberdeen, for $484,689.
The bids for the total project are higher than the ones for the basic job of the removal of the roof and painting.
Primo’s bid for the basic job was $299,309 followed by $386,405 from Rognlin’s and Lupo’s $408,354.
Additional work — building a new roof and adding a salt-resistant treatment — were options.
The bid containing all three components was accepted with Commissioners John Austin and Phil Johnson in favor and Commissioner David Sullivan opposed.
Funding in the amount of $145,000 will come from revenues from Proposition 1, a 2010 voter-approved measure that raised the Jefferson County sales tax by 0.03 percent to 9 percent.
Other sources are $79,507 from a special projects fund and $25,000 from the parks improvement fund for a total of $249,507, which is $116,332 short of what is needed to complete the project.
This shortfall will most likely come from the general fund.
That prompted Sullivan’s opposition.
He said that the money could be better spent on other programs.
“This is a good project that I could support. On the other hand, the county has other needs,” Sullivan said.
“We need to remove the roof, but I feel that the funding for its replacement could come from other sources in the community.”
Said Austin: “This may be one of these issues where we are not all pulling in the same direction.
“This opportunity has a short shelf life that will create a tangible asset that will be with us for 20 years.
“We may not have an opportunity again to rebuild this roof for this price,” Austin said.
Johnson agreed with Austin, adding that without the roof, the stands would deteriorate more quickly and that the roof would cost more to add in the future.
Reinders said after the meeting that he hopes the work would be done in July.
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 of $328,166 for the basic job.
Temporary bleachers have been installed along with a wooden tunnel that provides safe passage to the restrooms which are located in the grandstand structure.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
