stanDarD Postage & Fees PaiD WiLLoughby, oh Permit 42
Volume 53, No. 25
LocaL PostaL customer ecrWss/eDDm
CHESTERLAND NEWS Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967
Russell Trustees Toss Garage Bids, Consider Alternate Plan By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com
Russell Township Trustees voted unanimously April 7 to formally reject all bids for construction of a police and fire department storage garage, and agreed they need clarity on what steps they must take next. Before the vote, questions arose after resident Jim Campbell reported he researched the project, calling five or six contractors for the cost of a 42-foot-by-120-foot building with six doors and a concrete floor. A Morton Buildings Co. representative in Illinois told him an insulated building installed would cost $240,000 to $280,000, Campbell said. Concrete would run about $30,000 and the site work for electricity and water would be around $30,000, both estimated by local contractors, Campbell said. If the Morton number didn’t include overhead doors, Campbell said they should cost no more than $35,000 installed and would be wider than the original specifications showed. When he included hiring a construction manager, the garage could be built for about $430,000, Campbell estimated. “You’ve got to get off your duffs so we can get this thing done,” he said. “Get on with the show or shelve it and forget it.” Trustee Matt Rambo said the trustees would have to put the
ANN WISHART/KMG
Russell Township trustees Jim Muller and Kristina Port discussed the pros and cons of redesigning the storage building at the April 7 meeting. Bids for the original plan came in higher than expected.
project out for bids, again, and Campbell said he was told by the Morton representative since it has been bid once, they shouldn’t have to do it again. “We’ll check it out,” Rambo said. Trustee Jim Mueller urged the board to take action. “We need to make progress,” he said, adding the lowest bidder said he might be able to save the township money with changes on the original specifications, decreasing the cost from the original lowest bid of $740,000 to about $670,000. Trustee Kristina Port said if trustees started the process from the beginning, there will be more costs for engineering, survey work and soil borings, and a site plan would have to be approved by the Geauga County Planning Commission. Interviews for a construction
manager would have to be held after advertising for one, she said, estimating the project could be done for about $640,000. “You do not have enough in the general fund to do that,” said Fiscal Officer Karen Walder. “You’ve got about $410,000 available to appropriate.” After trustees voted to reject all bids, Mueller proposed erecting one 2.5-car pole building for the police department and a separate twocar garage for the fire department for storage. “We would gain a lot with two separate buildings. The chiefs would get what they want,” Mueller said. As trustee chairman, Mueller asked Rambo to talk to the township’s assistant prosecuting attorney about the need to rebid everything. “See if you can get something
definitive from them. Be specific,” he advised Rambo. He also proposed a resolution to authorize the fire chief to begin the transition process to include two more firefighters/paramedics. No one will be hired until all the protocols are in place, Mueller said. “They have to be approved by us (township trustees),” he said. “We can add two people when he is ready.” Adding two more full-time employees will give the township better emergency coverage, Mueller said. In other business, trustees voted to rebuild the ramp to the old town hall so it will be ADA-compliant by the May 7 primary elections. Facilities Manager Shane Wrench said the cost for the work that includes new concrete and handrails increased from the first estimate of $12,000 to almost $22,000.