01-27-2014 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, January 27, 2014 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 25 of 32 (6. NORTH WATER TOWER REPAINTING PROJECT, Continued) Spragg stated typically cities would do a design/bid/build approach that is overseen by an engineer. Six percent of the construction costs would go to the engineer to write the plans and specs. The City would then award the project to the lowest bidder. An engineer would subsequently be hired to oversee the construction or rehab work, which would amount to approximately 10 percent of the costs, which would be based on the amount of time spent inspecting the construction work. Both the engineer’s costs and the subsequent rehabilitation costs would be due upon satisfactory completion of the work. Spragg noted there typically will be a one-year warranty on the tank. The City would have the option of adding either a two or a five-year extended warranty as bid alternates but that that option can end up being very costly. Spragg stated SEH has done a 40-year analysis with regard to total cost of ownership. A comparison was done with the City of Cottage Grove showing significant savings by utilizing the design/build method. In the comparison, the Cities of Arden Hills, St. Paul Park, and Vadnais Heights were compared to the proposal from the design-build team of SEH/Classic. In the study, it was determined that Cottage Grove would realize savings of $80,000 to $200,000 under the design-build method. Spragg indicated the most typical size for this type of tower is 1,000,000 gallons rather than 400,000 gallons. Spragg stated if the City is interested in the design-build method, the costs, with interest, can be spread out over the life of the contract. The tank would be warrantied against defects for the length of the contract, and if the coating fails, SEH would pay for that. McMillan asked what type of failure he is talking about. Spragg stated chipping or corroding would be included in the 5-year contract and that SEH would perform routine inspections of the tank over the life of the contract. Spragg stated painting a 140-foot structure that is exposed to the elements is not an exact science and that there are things that will occur, such as chipping. The worst case scenario would be metal loss. Spragg indicated SEH would prefer to address it when it is in the chipping stage. In addition some staining and streaking may occur. McMillan asked what some typical interior failures would be. Spragg stated they would be similar to the exterior. Spragg stated the wet interior is a very caustic environment and there could be straining or corrosion as well. Spragg indicated SEH will perform interior and exterior pressure washing of the tank, which will address the staining, and if there is spot corrosion, they will also address that. McMillan asked if that is also included in the costs. Spragg indicated it is. Spragg stated in 2002, the MN Legislature amended Section 471.345 to allow for municipalities to enter into multi-year professional service contracts for engineering, repair, and maintenance of a water storage tank. The benefits of this approach are the contractor works with an engineering firm on the inspection and review of the tanks, which allows them to have intimate knowledge of the tank and allows them to include an aggressive price on the project.