 Richland Hills City Council City Council Communication Meeting Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 File Reference: Agenda Item No.: 28 Agenda Item Caption: APPROVE CONTRACT AWARD TO LBL ARCHITECTS FOR LIBRARY ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINEERING SERVICES -- Consider discussing and approving contract award for the amount $19,500 to LBL Architects for architectural and engineering services regarding renovation of Library exterior. Administrative Comments: During the FY 2010-11 budget process, Council identified the repair of the Library exterior as a necessary capital project. The Library Director received three preliminary quotes from contractors regarding the work required and the average cost to install stucco (recommended) was $123,770. EFIS installation (not recommended) average cost was $127,475. Therefore, Council can expect to expend approximately $150,000 for construction and architectural/engineering costs for the project. Of course the true cost cannot be known until the project is designed and bid. Financing options are limited as a small $250,000 five-year general obligation debt issue would result in an approximate three percent increase in the debt tax rate with an average annual payment of $54,453. This office chose the $250,000 figure as the worst case scenario for the Library exterior. Additionally, the City would experience a much higher interest rate for issues considerably lower than $250,000 which is presently set at three percent. It is recommended that Council consider utilizing the General Reserve fund for this project.
LBL Architects has submitted a base price of $19,500 plus reimbursable charges to perform the necessary architectural and engineering work to take the project to bid. It is not recommended that the optional $8,500 fee be approved which entails designing an enclosure of a courtyard area. It is important that the integrity of the Library structure be maintained, if not, replacement cost will easily exceed one-million dollars. The starting point on the project is to take it to the marketplace to determine the actual cost, then accomplish a financing mechanism to fund the project prior to contract award either by a debt issue (not recommended) or a budget amendment.
Action Taken Motion: Made By: Second By: For: Against: Approved Denied Tabled Other (Explain): Comments/Staff Followup: |