MANSFIELD — Bids for construction needed to relocate the Richland County Clerk of Courts offices came in markedly lower than estimates on Thursday morning.
The project is to “build” the new “L2” at the county administration building, a floor that once contained the former county jail, using a share of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The Maurer Architectural Design Studio of Mansfield had estimated the project at $2.25 million. All three bids opened by commissioners were below that estimate.
Studer-Obringer Inc. of New Washington submitted the apparent low bid of $1,560,000, nearly one-third less than the estimate.
Three companies submit bids
Other bids came from Adena Corp. of Mansfield ($1,765,000) and 2K General Co. from Delaware ($1,758,000), both about 22 percent lower than the estimate.
Brad Maurer, who will spend the next few days going over the bids, said he was a little surprised all of the offerings came in below estimates. Commissioners in August of 2022 awarded his company a $180,000 contract to design the new space.
“Estimating the cost of construction of a renovation is not easy and we have a lot of factors going in the direction that seems to be elevating our estimates,” Maurer said.
“So we did take some of that into account. Prices are going up. Labor costs are going up. We reacted accordingly. I’m a little surprised. We were also putting a lot of thought into the flooring and the repairing of the flooring. We had a little bit of padding built into that, anticipating that was not gonna be an easy thing to get all those cracks and trenches filled,” Maurer said.
Electrical engineer Craig Christie, who assisted with the design, said he wondered if contractors were looking for inside projects during the coming winter months.
“(This) is a perfect project for that. Winter is coming on. They’re finishing up some outdoor stuff and sometimes you get a good price,” Christie said.
Maurer said it was a tough project to design and estimate.
“You’d have to look at the drawings to fully understand some of the struggles we had, getting feeders into the space from other areas electrically speaking. We’ve got the plan to how to get materials into the building. Access points weren’t a straight shot. So I’m happy with it,” Maurer said.
Project is more than two years in the making
Work to remove the old jail cells and prepare the space for the project began more than two years ago.
Commissioners have said the project meets two needs. It provides more space for the Clerk of Courts office. It will also allow for the creation of a fourth courtroom, a request made by Common Pleas Court Judges Brent Robinson and Phil Naumoff.
The new courtroom in the former clerks’ office space would be used by both judges and their three magistrates and would also provide extra space for the county prosecutor to conduct grand jury sessions.
The bid prices include furnishings and wiring needed for technology, according to Maurer.
Commissioner Tony Vero said the hope is that the work will be completed by the end of 2024.
County administrator Andrew Keller said, “Ideally, sooner than that. But certainly not later.”
Once the work is done, Keller said it will take about two weeks to relocate the Clerk of Courts office into the new space.
“Once they vacate the space in the clerk’s office, the court will have the green light to get started ASAP with the fourth courtroom build out,” he said.
“That will be a much simpler project than the ‘L2’ project. We can say that with certainty,” Keller said.
Shiloh water project bid advertising delayed
Keller advised commissioners that advertising for bids for the $2 million-plus water project in the Village of Shiloh will be delayed.
Village Administrator Bryan VerBurg told village council members Sept. 27 that advertisements, originally intended to start Oct. 2, were currently unable to begin running.
related reading
“The (plan) design group is the hold up,” Verburg said at the council meeting. “It is held up because the forms are not done and the final plans are not done.”
Keller told commissioners the bids are now scheduled to be advertised on Oct. 9 and Oct. 16. Bids would be opened at the commissioners’ office on Nov. 9, according to the county administrator.
On Sept. 21, Keller aid commissioners were required to be a “joint owner of the construction project” since they had committed $500,000 in ARPA funds toward the effort.
CT Consultants are handing the design work for the three-phase project. Work will include installing water meters for all village customers; fire hydrant and valve replacement; dismantling the old water tower; and replacing the Main Street water line.
