Two special meetings, a few pointed questions about contractor obligations, and nine votes solidified a move that City Council members, management and members of the police department celebrated Thursday at City Hall.
Council unanimously approved contracts worth $11,185,898 for the construction portion of the new police station to go up on the corner of Bank Street and Alva Place in downtown Batavia.
“I’ve just gotta say this, going out after 12 years. This has now become probably one of the major accomplishments of my career in government,” Councilman John Canale said during the specially scheduled business meeting. “And I am just so very, very happy to finally see this happen. Unless you go through that building, you have no idea what our police department has worked under, the types of conditions that they have worked under.”
Canale opted not to run for reelection to his Third Ward seat during this year's general election, and this was likely his last official piece of business for his term. He was one of nine yes votes for the following bids:
- Building Innovation Group was chosen as the lowest of seven bidders for the general contracting portion of the police facility with a bid of $5,468,698.
- Kaplan Schmidt Electric, Inc. was lowest of five bidders for electrical work with a bid of $1,365,500.
- HVAC mechanical contracting went to Crosby-Brownlie, Inc. out of four bidders, with a bid of $1,897,200.
- MKS Plumbing Corp. was the low bidder out of three proposals for plumbing and fire contracting, with a bid of $895,000.
- Seven bidders pitched for site contracting, and Ingalls Development was the low bidder with $1,559,500.
Council members Paul Viele and Bob Bialkowski asked questions about the contract, including if it was “written in stone,” and whether the city would be hearing months from now that a mistake was made and a vendor needed more money.
“We do have contingency in the overall project budget,” City Manager Rachael Tabelski said. “But these are the contracts that we will be executing for the work that was in the bids.”
Viele also wanted to know about timeline: Is there one and is the contractor made to abide by it?
There is an 18-month time period for the project completion, Tabelski said.
Bialkowski also wanted some assurances about the contractor — what happens in the event a main or sub contractor stops working or files for bankruptcy?
“I don’t want to see a building half completed,” Bialkowski said.
There are provisions in the standard contract for such situations, City Attorney George Van Nest said, though “we’re not sitting here expecting that to happen.”
“Not that it’s never happened, obviously,” he said.
The public works and architectural team has checked references and feels comfortable with the lowest bidders chosen, Van Nest said, and there are bond claims in case a contractor becomes insolvent, he said. Should a contractor cease working on the job, it goes to another contractor, he said.
“I understand Mr. Bialkowski’s concerns,” Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said, referencing the situation at Ellicott Station, where the contractor walked off the job after closing his company.
The total police facility project is estimated to be $15.5 million, paid for with a $13 million loan at 3.75 percent interest from the USDA and a $2.5 million grant, Tabelski said.
“We would love to deliver on budget or under budget,” she said, later adding that “we’re really excited to see these bids awarded today.”
After the vote, which also included members Kathy Briggs, Al McGinnis, David Twichell, Rich Richmond and Tammy Schmidt, the audience with police department staff representation applauded.
Jankowski, a retired lieutenant, once worked at the current station on Main Street also known as Brisbane Mansion. He said that “it’s been a long road” to get to this point.
“I want to thank you for sticking through this project, it’s been 10 years, probably more,” he said. “Thank you for doing the right thing.”
Bialkowski shared some history that there was a former police station on School Street, and recalled how “you walked up the stairs, and right at the top of the hallway was the desk sergeant."
