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Covering Monmouth, Dallas, Independence and Falls City since 1868 |
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| Independence reaps bargain project bids from down economy |
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| INDEPENDENCE -- Contractor bids on two major capital projects scheduled for Independence this year have collectively come in millions of dollars below original estimates, officials said.
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By Craig Coleman
INDEPENDENCE -- Contractor bids on two major capital projects scheduled for Independence this year have collectively come in millions of dollars below original estimates, officials said.
"In some ways, it's the silver lining to the down economy for us," said Shawn Irvine, community development technician. "It means we can afford to get more things done for less money."
One involves the proposed 36,000-square-foot civic center that will sit on the site of an old municipal water facility on South Main Street.
That improvement was projected at $11.7 million by a cost-estimating firm in March. Last month, Independence voted to issue up to $12 million in municipal bonds to pay for the building.
City Manager Greg Ellis said the lowest of 11 bids for the civic center totaled $8.1 million. Many of the rest were just above that range.
The original cost estimate might have been faulty, given resulting bids nearly 30 percent lower, Ellis said. Still, "we're happier than a clam to get it."
City Council will select a bidder sometime this week.
Proposals for the Gun Club Road sidewalk improvement, meanwhile, came back in late May well below a projected $620,000.
Last week, officials voted to accept a bid from Mid-Valley Gravel for a contract totaling $390,000.
Independence had received a $240,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation to help offset the cost of constructing sidewalks and a bike lane on the west side of the road between Colonia Amistad and Monmouth Street.
The city is partnering on the improvement with Central School District, which will pay for a reduction of the slope of Gun Club Road as it approaches the bridge from the south to enhance sight distance from its parking lot exit.
Construction is slated to start the week of July 6 and conclude, at the latest, before the start of school in September.
"We have companies facing the prospect of going out of business because there is no work," Irvine said. "They're not making a profit, but it's better for them to make operating costs than not."
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