By Chris Spangler
The Fort Atkinson City Council on Thursday chose a Clinton firm to build a new operations facility for the city’s Public Works and Parks departments.
Meeting two days later than usual due to the New Year’s holiday, the council unanimously approved a recommendation by the Janesville architectural firm Angus-Young to award the bid to Gilbank Construction Co. of Clinton.
Gilbank submitted the lowest base construction bid of $11.544 million. A 5% contingency budget of $577,200 brings the total to an estimated $12.12 million.
The other three bidders, submitting contingency proposals, were Miron Construction Co. Inc., Madison/Milwaukee, $11,821,531; Hunzinger Construction Co., Brookfield, $13.169 million; and Joe Daniels Construction Co. Inc., Madison, $13,581,482.
Plans call for building a 79,557-square-foot Public Works and Parks departments operations facility and 900-ton salt storage shed, renovating the Parks Department garage and undertaking associated site improvements.
The work at the current southside facility is being enabled by the scheduled Feb. 1 permanent closure of James Place from Janesville Avenue to Talcott Street.
According to a memo from Angus-Young project architect Brad Werginz, the four base bids for building the project ranged from $11.544 million to $13,581,482, with the two lowest bidders within 2.4% of each other.
“The low bidder … is a highly qualified general contractor with the expertise and experience necessary to construct a quality building for the city of Fort Atkinson,” Werginz wrote. “Most notably, Gilbank Construction completed the Public Works Facility for the City of Delavan in 2020.”
Director of Public Works Andy Selle echoed that sentiment Thursday.
“We were very happy with where these numbers came in,” he said. “The council is probably aware of the $15-$20 million range we’ve been talking about during this process, now going on over a year … I think we’re sitting in a really good spot, frankly, to be on the low end of that by the time we finish this project.”
Along with the construction bid and contingency, project “soft costs” include $1,166,975 for the land, design, utility relocation, permitting and construction oversight. Adding in the $545,000 for furnishings and equipment, the estimated total is $13,833,175.
“We’ve still got a little ways to go, but we’re looking at something under $14 million right now today with our best estimates, and I think that’s something to be proud of …,” Selle said.
He reported that the 5% contingency budget of $577,200 was added to the base bid total to plan for unforeseen situations. The council authorized him and City Manager Rebecca Houseman to approve change orders up to $20,000.
Construction could begin Jan. 22, with substantial completion dates for the salt shed and large-vehicle parking garage of April 16 and Nov. 1, respectively. The project’s final completion date is expected to be June 1, 2025.
Responding to council members’ questions, Selle said the cost of deconstruction of current buildings is included in the Gilbank bid.
“The city residents, I’m sure, will be happy to hear how much lower this has come in …,” council member Eric Schultz said, asking whether Selle felt the project might use less than the 5% contingency.
Selle explained that the city had a 5% contingency for the wastewater treatment plant project and right now, there is about $10,000 left. However, he acknowledged that 5% “is a little tight.”
He said that Werginz had recommended a 10% contingency, but he, Selle, felt that more than $1 million in contingency would be too much.
“We can always come back to the council and say ‘we’ve run into something significant that we didn’t anticipate and we need more,’” he said. “So, to answer your question, no, it might not be enough, but I am comfortable asking for (5%).”
In addition, Selle mentioned that Gilbank also was the low bidder for an on-site truck scale system costing $115,000. However, it was decided to forego the scale at this time.
“We were looking at that for salt management,” Selle said, adding that he spoke with stormwater and state Department of Natural Resources experts who said that any requirement to weigh the amount of salt used during snow- and ice events would be coming “very, very far in the future.”
Council member Kyle Jaeckel, who noted that his family’s company purchased a truck scale about two years ago, agreed that waiting is best.
“Although this did come in well under our budget, this is a huge expense for our city,” Schultz said of the project overall.
However, he pointed out that were the city to do nothing, maintenance of the city garage facilities alone would cost about $5 million.
“This probably is the best financial choice for the long term. As elected members of this community, we asked to not only take a look at what it would cost today or over the course of paying this off, but also what’s the best decision to make for the long term,” Schultz said.
Waiting to undertake the work would be more costly down the road, he added.
Wirginz agreed, saying that he oversaw a project very similar in scope to Fort Atkinson’s in 2017, and now seven years later, its pricetag would be about 50% higher.
“This is a large investment, but it is a multigenerational investment,” council member Mason Becker said.
He noted that some members of the public have asked why this project was not undertaken, say, a decade ago when the facility was starting to have issues.
“You look where the city was economically nine, 10 years ago; we just simply weren’t ready,” Becker said. “It would have been really hard to justify the cost. But now I think we can say that this is a step that the city needs to take and needs to be done.”
He added that city officials did look at other sites, such as the former Loeb-Lorman metal-recycling property, but found that this “is the most fiscally responsible step that we can take right now.”
On a motion by Schultz that was seconded by Jaeckel, the council unanimously voted to award the construction bid to Gilbank and approve the 5% contingency.
Also Thursday, the council approved a recommendation to maintain Angus-Young’s services to guide the city through 480 days of construction.
Council member Davin Lescohier made a motion to hire Angus-Young for construction-period services at a price not to exceed $121,000. This was seconded by Becker and unanimously approved.
Pool heater
Also on Thursday, the council unanimously approved buying a Pentair MegaTherm commercial pool heater from Richter Heating & Air Conditioning of Watertown.
It will be purchased with 2024 Aquatic Center Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funds for a cost not to exceed $35,822.
The second bidder for the pool heater was Neuman Pools of Beaver Dam, with a price of $56,578.80.
Fort Atkinson Parks and Recreation Director Brooke Franseen said she researched the $20,756.80 difference in bids. Potential reasons included a slight difference between switches on the two models that did not affect the heater’s work, the inclusion of a $50,000 service contract by Neuman (the city already uses Richter for service on a case-by-case basis) and the possibility that some companies experiencing labor shortages and/or full calendars might be submitting higher quotes.
Franseen noted that the current Fort Family Aquatic Center pool heater was purchased in 2008.
“Typically, pool heaters have a lifespan of 11 to 15 years, which prompted staff to budget for a new pool heater in the 2024 CIP. At the beginning of the 2023 summer season, the Fort Family Aquatic Center pool heater experienced a malfunction, resulting in a series of disruptions to operations and services,” she said.
“The malfunction prompted staff to engage Richter Heating and Cooling, the city’s pool service contractor, for multiple service calls to address the issues with the heater. During the short time the heater was down, the water was cold, which impacted the overall experience for families enjoying the pool and participants in the swim lessons,” Franseen added.
She noted that several contractors pointed out deficiencies in the current heater, including melting wires and other structural issues that compromise its functionality.
The 2024 CIP budgeted $39,000 for replacing the pool heater. The funding source is the 2024-25 borrowing.
Becker made a motion to purchase the heater from Richter. This was seconded by Lescohier and unanimously approved.
Public comment
Two persons spoke during the meeting’s public comment period Thursday.
John Donohue, 1550 Raveen St., read portions of a letter that the Whitewater Common Council on Dec. 19 decided to send to President Joe Biden and other state and federal elected officials regarding the “challenges” that immigration has placed on law enforcement and city resources as a whole.
Planned to be signed by the Whitewater Police Chief Dan Meyer, City Manager John Weidl and common council members, the letter states that since 2022, the city has seen a rapid increase in the arrival of immigrants from Nicaragua and Venezuela.
“We estimate that there are roughly 800 to 1,000 individuals who have arrived here in that short time. Each individual has a different reason for coming here: some are fleeing a corrupt government, others are simply looking for a better opportunity to prosper. Regardless of the individual situations these people need resources like anyone else, and their arrival has put great strain on our existing resources,” the letter reads.
It states that communication, transportation, housing and documentation/identification concerns are among the top obstacles the city is facing and must address. It also indicates an increase in police traffic stops and criminal behavior.
The letter asks the elected officials for support in the form of direct funding or the ability to apply for a community grant to address these concerns.
“This is a crucial humanitarian issue, and our city needs government assistance in order to continue to serve our entire community properly,” the letter concludes.
The full letter may be found here: http://whitewaterwise.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Letter-to-President-Biden.pdf.
Donohue told the council that Fort Atkinson could face similar problems.
“It may be noted that as a candidate for this city council a year ago, I raised a concern with city staff that it was not a question of if, but a question of when we would experience the various logistical and law enforcement challenges of a sudden shift in our city’s demographics similar to Whitewater and other communities,” Donohue told the Fort Atkinson council.
“It remains, as before, a matter of when — and, of course, how — we are to address the challenges of a sudden demographic shift in our city,” he added.
Donohue warned that the city’s law enforcement, healthcare and first-responder infrastructures will be tested, and pointed out that the city already is experiencing a housing shortfall.
“It would be incumbent on city staff, elected officials, to make clear to our public how the demographic shift will be managed when it occurs,” he said, urging that the discussion start now.
Also speaking was John Hausz, 104 Jefferson St., who encouraged the city council to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each meeting.
Stating that both the school and county boards do it, he presented the council with a resolution he drafted to that effect.
Hausz also listed “things that I have noticed in the previous administration that have never been taken care of.”
He mentioned the decision to place steel lightpoles along Madison Avenue and an invasive plant growing on what Hausz called the “Shah property,” the residential subdivision located in the area behind Kwik Trip, Culver’s and Pick ’n Save.
“Another mistake that the previous administration made — and this may have been the school board or MATC — (was that) they put up them windmill generators. Boy, that was a real winner, wasn’t it?” Hausz said. “I actually watched one blow up while I was driving by one day.”
Other business
In other business Thursday, the council:
• Learned that Parks and Recreation Department Director Brooke Franseen is leaving to accept a position with the School District of Clinton.
“Brooke has done an incredible job in her role for the past four years, and behalf of the city council and staff, I wish her success in her new position,” City Manager Houseman said.
She said that it is expected that the open position will be posted in the next few weeks.
• Saluted Fort Atkinson Police Office Ryan Walters on being the 33rd State Assembly District’s 2023 “First Responder of the Year.” A story will soon be published about the recognition of Walters.
Fort Atkinson Municipal Building, file photo/Kim McDarison.
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