Page County Courthouse Window Project

https://valleynewstoday.com/news/bidding-process-underway-for-page-county-courthouse-window-project/article_c8a3b23e-ca30-11ec-8c29-db62e84c4422.html - The bidding process has been approved by the board of supervisors for the Clarinda Courthouse window project. During the Page County Board of Supervisors meeting on April 28, Kelsey Vetter, a project engineer with Farnsworth Group out of Des Moines, gave a window replacement project presentation. During the presentation, Vetter told the supervisors there would be a base bid for contractors to replace the windows in the entire building and the horizontal louver blinds. She said there would also be alternate bids for the supervisors to consider. Farnsworth Group will handle the bidding process, and supervisors asked that the bids be due by 8:30 a.m. on May 31 at the beginning of their board meeting. Vetter went through the project details with the supervisors outlining the plans for the building's lower level (basement), first floor, second floor, and exterior. There are 88 windows in the building, including the smaller windows in the basement. Having no drawings of the building to work with, the Farnsworth Group used a drone and was able to create a 3D model of the building. In the proposal, Vetter said she used the Pella Reserve Line windows as the basis of design, describing them as aluminum-clad wood windows. She said the outside of the window would be white aluminum which is currently what shows on the outside of the building, but the interior would be wood and historically accurate for the building. Vetter noted that the supervisors could choose to go with a different window manufacturer. The current windows in the Courthouse are double-hung, but Vetter said with the height of each window, it was unlikely that anyone ever opened the upper level, so she was recommending replacing the windows with single hung. "So fewer parts, less chances for things to go wrong," said Vetter. Supervisor Jacob Holmes asked if only replacing the parts of each window that moved would be an option instead of the whole window. Vetter cautioned against that saying it would cause issues combining all aluminum windows with the aluminum-clad wood window. Another cost-saving option the supervisors discussed was not replacing the windows in the basement at this time. Vetter said this was a plausible option saying the outside of the current basement windows are white aluminum, and being low to the ground and behind some shrubbery, the slight color variation wouldn't be that noticeable. If the supervisors decided to go this route, that would eliminate replacing 24 smaller windows and save $33,000. One other decision the supervisors would need to make is to replace the windows coverings with horizontal louver blinds similar to what is on the windows now or go with a fabric roller shade that is more durable. The difference in cost between the two would be $17,000. Vetter said she has also visited with the preservation office of the State Historical Society of Iowa to ensure compliance since the Courthouse was listed on the national registry of historic places. She said due to the type of funding being used, ARPA funding, for the project, they would not be required to submit for technical assistance for compliance with section 106. Vetter said she submitted the project for feedback from the preservation office per their recommendation and said they made a couple of suggestions but said they were on board overall. She said the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts would not apply to the contractor working on the project because it is not a federally funded job. Vetter said the estimated $735,000 cost of the project did include a contingency for construction and a 10% contingency to provide a cushion with the market being unpredictable. Vetter said it is estimated to take 12 to 20 weeks to get the windows on site after the order is placed. The Supervisor voted to open up the bidding process and have bids due by 8:30 a.m. on May 31. During the board of supervisor meeting on May 31, the bids would be opened at 9 a.m., and the supervisors would have the option to accept or reject the bids. Vetter said she would also hold a pre-bid conference for contractors interested in the job. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.kmaland.com/news/page-county-sets-bid-deadline-for-courthouse-window-project/article_fe9df9a0-c58d-11ec-85d6-2f4af27027f6.html Apr 26, 2022 (Clarinda) -- Page County officials have given the green light to seek bids for a massive window project. During its regular meeting Tuesday morning, the county's board of supervisors unanimously approved moving forward with the bidding process for the courthouse window project. The project would include replacing 88 windows on the courthouse, with an estimate provided by Farnsworth Group, LLC at roughly $735,000, including a 10% contingency for the cost of supplies. The board also previously agreed to use American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project. Kelsey Vetter, a Senior Architect with Farnsworth, who gave a presentation to the board, says nearly $479,000 of that cost alone will come from the cost of the windows. "You know, you guys do have large openings, and to be able to fill them--it does add up," said Vetter. "And I will say that that number, I've been working specifically with Pella (Corporation) just because they have a plant close by. That doesn't mean they have to be used for this project, we are just listing them as a basis of design." Other estimated costs included equipment and scaffolding, demolition of the current windows, sealants, flashing, and finishes. Vetter says the subtotal estimate without market accountability is just under $680,000 but would drop by $33,000 if the board chose not to replace the 24 basement windows. Vetter says a lead time for windows after placing the order sits at around 12-20 weeks, allowing construction to likely start in the fall. "Knowing that we have that lead time, that gives us some options for this fall and the contractor can get started on some of the smaller paperwork this summer," said Vetter. "And then once they know when the windows will arrive, they can fit that into their schedule." Additionally, for a roughly $17,000 cost, Vetter says the board could replace the window blinds. Supervisor Chuck Morris questioned the ability to preserve some of the current shades and blinds. But Vetter says it would likely need to be on a case-by-case basis. "With your windows being so large, it's really easy for a lot of the gears to get stripped out," said Vetter. "They make them that big, but it's not necessarily an ideal condition to have them installed. So, I think we would just have to go through case-by-case to find the ones you would like to keep." The Page County courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Vetter says when using certain types of funding, it is required to submit an application to the State Historical Society of Iowa for technical assistance and compliance with guidelines. "Given this is ARPA funding, they are not requiring those technical assistance or the section 106 be met," said Vetter. "So, in my discussions with them, they still highly recommend we submit this project and get feedback from them. So that in the future if there's any work to be done or there's any other considerations of funding for this building, the windows would basically already be in compliance." With the timeline running into the June 7th primaries, the board set a bid deadline for May 31st at 8:30 AM, with the bids being opened at the regular meeting on the same day. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ As of December 8, 2021 this project is in design development. A timeline for bid/construction has not yet been determined. As of March 4, 2022, no new information available

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