Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 12.9.15

NEWS
Two Months into Construction, City Hall Project Over Budget City o cials to decide options for reducing costs and increasing funding for new downtown building
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
Barely two months into construction of a new city hall and parking structure, White sh already faces cost overruns that could lead to cutbacks or increased bud- geting for the project.
The latest cost estimates for the project are roughly $1 million over the approved budget of $14.95 million, according to a memo from city manager Chuck Stearns.
A subcommittee tasked with overseeing the proj- ect is recommending the city council consider multiple options that would reduce costs and allocate new funds to the design and construction by borrowing from the tax increment nance district and allocating leftover money from an ancillary fund.
The subcommittee’s recommendations would cover $772,322 of the overruns, but an additional $227,687 would remain unfunded. Additional overruns could also emerge after the latest design bids from late last week, Stearns said.
The city council was slated to review the situation at its regular meeting Dec. 7 and decide how to cover these unexpected overages.
The city hall portion of the project remains in line with historic cost projections, but the continued design of the parking structure has led to heightened expenses.
Stearns said a number of factors have led to the increased costs, including the exterior of the parking structure, a third elevator and increasing construction costs for steel, concrete and labor.
Another contributing factor is that White sh took a unique strategy for constructing the new downtown facility. Instead of following the standard of fully design- ing the structures before going out to bid and selecting the lowest o er, White sh chose its contractor — Martel Construction of Bigfork — rst as a “construction man- ager at risk.”
This method involves a general contractor earlier in the process and can lead to expedited construction and
Demolition of White sh City Hall. BEACON FILE PHOTO
a better product in the end, Stearns said.
By using this method, “I think we have more control
and we’re getting a better building,” he said.
“A big incentive is you get a contractor on board ear- lier and cost estimating is better. That may be true, but right now cost estimating is coming in high for what we
want,” he added.
In late October, crews began demolishing the his-
toric city hall and embarked on a multi-year project to construct a new 18,000- to 21,000-square-foot building that will include municipal o ces, a parking garage and retail space. Construction is expected to be completed by 2017.
In June, the council unanimously approved a $14.95 million budget for the project.
Faced with the cost overruns, the city’s subcommit- tee is seeking to reduce $229,128 worth of proposed features. The changes would include eliminating an elevator ($90,000), a skylight in the council chambers ($19,000), some outdoor canopies along Baker Avenue ($53,000), and oversized brick on the east side of the building ($7,085). It would also cut nishing the base- ment storage area and locker/bathrooms ($28,013).
The subcommittee is also seeking to borrow $162,000
from the TIF district by capitalizing on three years of lease payments from the retail space. The city’s realtor, Chap Godsey, said he believes the city could rent the 3,000-square-foot space at the northwest corner of the parking structure for $18 per square foot per year, which would result in $162,000 of revenue over three years, which would be repaid to the TIF district.
Martel Construction also believes it can nd $181,194 in savings by altering its engineering plans without “a ecting greatly the quality of the project,” Stearns said.
Also, the city budgeted for $1 million in ancillary costs for interim city hall costs and other expenses, and “there is probably at least $200,000 that will not be used from that budget and can be allocated to the design costs,” Stearns said in his memo.
These four separate proposals would cover $772,322.
Stearns said the remaining $227,687 could come from additional value engineering savings, other design cost reductions, an increase of the budget and increased con- tribution from TIF, and a use of the 5 percent contin- gency or private fundraising.
Stearns said the council would give city sta direction at Monday night’s meeting.
If the city council chooses to add money to the budget, those funds would most likely come from the TIF, Stea- rns said in his memo.
He added that some members of the community sup- port revising the list of priority projects in the resort tax program and pay for the sidewalk and streetscape costs of the project using resort tax collections, but that con- cept has not had support of the elected o cials on the subcommittee or city sta .
All costs of the project are paid from the accumulated savings of the TIF district and current year TIF appro- priation, as well as a future Tax Increment Bond, and $750,000 from the approved $880,000 Special Improve- ment District #167.
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
Meanwhile, local o cials have brought in a Missoula marketing agency, PartnersCreative, to help craft the community’s brand in a post-Superfund world. In late November, six listening sessions were held in Libby and Troy to gather ideas on how to market south Lincoln County to a wider audience, according to PartnersCre- ative spokesperson Joe Nickell.
“We want to nd what Libby’s best assets are and brand those in a way that will best appeal to people who want to live in or visit the area,” Nickell said.
Nickell said the collaboration with Lincoln County and PartnersCreative could result in a new logo or slo- gan for the community. He said the marketing agency is reviewing the information it gathered in Libby and Troy and hope to come up with a marketing strategy that could be brought to the community in spring 2016.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
Libby Awaits Final Superfund Cleanup Plan EPA o cials say Record of Decision could be issued this month
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
Following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agen- cy’s release of its Human Health Risk Assessment for the Libby Asbestos Superfund, local o cials are awaiting the next piece of a puzzle that will guide the nal stages of a decade-long cleanup in that community.
EPA o cials in Libby said a nal Record of Decision could be issued before the end of December. That doc- ument will outline what additional clean up Libby and the surrounding area need before nally getting a clean bill of health.
Meanwhile, local residents are also looking to life after the Superfund and have recently started meeting with a Missoula branding rm to help rebuild Libby’s image.
Both the Record of Decision and the community’s rebranding has been the subject of numerous public meetings. On Nov. 19, local o cials met in Helena with representatives of the EPA and Montana Department
of Environmental Quality to discuss the Human Health Assessment.
“It was a one-on-one meeting to let them know how we want to move forward,” said Lincoln County Commis- sioner Mike Cole.
Cole said local o cials’ biggest concern is how the future cleanup and institutional controls will be paid for. Once the EPA leaves Lincoln County, institutional controls would guide how someone deals with any asbestos they encoun- ter. O cials have said it’s impossible to eliminate all of the material because it occurs there naturally.
The unprecedented asbestos contaminaion in Libby, which has killed hundreds and sickened thousands, stems from the W.R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine that operated north of Libby from 1963 to 1990.
“The residents of Lincoln County shouldn’t have to bear the burden of paying for the institutional controls and whatever additional clean up may be required in the future,” Cole said.
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DECEMBER 9, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM