Agenda Notes:
Agenda Item #10B: Annexation Fire Station #37 Contract Award
Staff Resource: Bruce Miller, 704-336-4469
The 2005 annexation process identified the need for a new fire station along NC49 South. The City acquired a site at 13828 York Road (one quarter mile north of Shopton Road West). This area (Steele Creek) is currently being serviced by a temporary fire station at 14525 Sledge Road.
Fire Station #37 was advertised for construction bid opening on July 28, 2005. Only two contractors submitted bids for the project, and consequently, the project was re-bid. The second round of bids included three contractors with a low base bid of $2,846,435.90. The Engineer's estimate for the project was $2,219,780; therefore, the lowest base bid was 28% higher than the Engineer's estimate. The project architect analyzed the bids and concluded the following:
- Construction market is very busy
- A significant amount of dirt is needed to make the site level and may be difficult to obtain
- Material prices - steel and concrete - continue to increase
- Fuel prices impacting materials shipping costs
- Liquidated damages contract component could be a concern with busy marketplace
Staff reviewed recently completed Fire Department capital projects and identified project savings in the following areas:
- Completion of two annexation fire stations (Fire Station #36 on West Mallard Creek Church Road and Fire Station #35 on Pavilion Boulevard): $224,795
- Completion of the Fire Training Burn Building: $224,460
- Defer renovations to one fire station: $140,000
- Reduce project contingency from $60,000 to $40,000.
The bid also included five alternates. Two alternates totaling $10,000 related to stainless steel casework and heavy duty concrete pavement upgrades are recommended. The Fire Department will forgo the remaining bid alternates relating to decorative fencing, overhang for the patio, and interior finish upgrades. We are seeing significant increases in construction costs across the board; therefore, alternative solutions to manage cost increases will need to be considered for future projects.
Agenda Item #26: Water Meter Parts Purchased
Staff Resource: Doug Bean, 704-391-5070
In 2002, Utilities began a project to replace all manually-read water meters with automated meters. As of September 1, 190,646 out of a total of 232,097 meters (82%) are now automated. We expect to complete all automated meter installations by the spring of 2006.
Automated meters transmit their readings electronically to a single computer, which is operated by a technician in a traveling van. A single street or small neighborhood can have its meter readings downloaded almost instantly, and monthly readings for our entire service area can be read within 10 days. This new system replaces a meter-reading process that formerly involved 36 full-time meter readers driving and walking several miles daily along individual routes to locate, manually inspect and record monthly readings from more than 200,000 meters.
With automated meters, the personnel and equipment costs are reduced and the reads occur more quickly and accurately. Over time, we anticipate less meter-tampering, fewer customer complaints, reduced billing errors, and fewer account estimates.
