Commission to consider new aquatic center bids

Ronica Shannon

Richmond City Commission will meet next week in a special session to discuss newly submitted bids to construct the proposed family aquatic center at Lake Reba Recreational Complex.

The latest bids will be examined at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the conference room of City Hall.

Commissioners received the first round of bids on Sept. 19 and were “blown away” by the lowest bid of more than $7.6 million, said Commissioner Kay Cosby Jones.

The preliminary estimate for the facility was $4.5 million, but as more features were added at the request of commissioners and others involved with the facility’s construction, the price began to approach $6.5 million, Larry Brandstetter, president of the Brandstetter Carroll Inc., said at the September meeting.

The bids submitted to the commission on Sept. 19 were: $7,640,000 (D.W. Wilburn Inc. of Lexington), $7,937,100 (Alliance Corp. of Glasgow) and $8,250,000 (Messer Construction of Lexington).

The order to award the project to the lowest bidder for the originally designed aquatic center failed to be adopted after a tie vote by commissioners at a Sept. 26 meeting. Both Richmond Mayor Connie Lawson and Jones voted in favor of the facility and Commissioners Jim Barnes and Robert Blythe voted no, asking that the city take a more affordable approach. Commissioner Mike Brewer, who had potential to deliver the tie-breaking vote, was out of town.

New bids were resubmitted from the same three firms to the commission on Nov. 15.

The lowest bid offered, which was $5,380,000, came from D.W. Wilburn Inc. Other bids included the Alliance Corp. at $5,399,900 and Messer Construction for $5,715,000.

These amounts were base bids and each contractor included the costs for each feature the city may want to add in the future. (See information graphic for a complete list.)

“I was hoping we could get it below $5.5 million,” Jones said. “I’m happy with the $5.3 million bid (D.W. Wilburn Inc.) and I would vote for it should it come before the commission.”

Jones said she was disappointed with proposed eliminations that would make the facility more affordable.

The eliminations determined by the architects and commissioners, accompanied by their costs, include: Lazy river ($900,000); rock structures and bridge ($350,000); sprayground ($300,000); slide ($200,000); reduce pool filter size ($150,000); a family slide ($150,000); revised water feature equipment ($100,000); a concrete deck ($100,000); shade structures ($30,000); night lighting ($75,000); irrigation system ($30,000); and tap fees ($20,000).

Eliminating these items would save $130,000 in sales taxes and would bring down the cost of the facility to $4,903,000.

“(The eliminations) take out a lot of the fun things for small children, but I think we have eliminated everything that could be taken out without changing the scope of what we had planned,” Jones said.

She wants private businesses to donate funds that would allow the city to add some of the eliminated features in the future.

All of the revisions proposed thus far still would not be acceptable to Commissioner Mike Brewer, who said he would not vote in favor of a bid that was above the original price estimate of $4.5 million.

“I want to build a swimming pool, but I want it to be one that fits into the city’s budget,” Brewer said. “And, I want to see this plan to make sure that the city does not jeopardize the safety of this community. The city also is building two fire stations and needs to hire 12 new firemen.”

Richmond Mayor Connie Lawson said the aquatic center could still be built without failing to complete the projects Brewer mentioned.

“We can support a pool,” she said. “We’re are able to support the golf course (located at Gibson Bay in the Lake Reba Recreational Complex), and it was $6 million.”

However, Lawson said she is willing to put her personal opinions aside and do the things necessary to bring the aquatic center to Richmond’s Lake Reba.

“I’m a get-along person,” Lawson said. “I’ll do whatever it takes so that all the children in Richmond and the county will have a place to swim.”

The pool bids will be the last item on Tuesday’s meeting agenda that includes two other items, said Richmond City Manager David Evans.

Text Only