County project balloons from $9,800 to $125K. Commissioner: 'Would you do it?'
A Butte-Silver Bow commissioner is irked that county officials let a $9,800 stair-and-sidewalk job behind the courthouse balloon into a $125,000 ramp project that was completed without council knowledge or any bidding process.
Officials say the scope of the project was altered due to unforeseen issues, including stumps and ground shifting. Then Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher requested the sidewalk and stairs be replaced with an ADA ramp.
County officials explained the situation to commissioners in a two-page letter that was essentially an FYI, since the project is done, the bills are due and there's really nothing for the council to approve or reject at this point.
The entire situation did not sit well with Commissioner Jim Fisher.
"We started with a $9,800 project and we ended up paying $125,000," Fisher told Gallagher and fellow commissioners Wednesday night. "I mean, if that was your house, would you do it? If it's anybody else's place, would you do it?
"It's already done, it's paid," he said. "We had no consideration from commissioners until it's time to pay the bill. Now, all of a sudden, I've got to go explain to my taxpayers that, you know, 'Hey, we put in $9,800 sidewalk and ended up paying $125,000 for it.' It's like the bridge to nowhere."
Gallagher conveyed several reasons a "minor repair" became "a lot bigger project" and making it an ADA accessible ramp added far more cost. Steel rails alone cost $39,500 and only one Butte business could do the job before winter, officials say.
He noted that ADA issues have come before commissioners of late. With backing by scores of people with disabilities and advocates, the council is soon expected to adopt policy changes regarding ADA ramps and ramp encroachments.
Regardless, local government projects costing more than $80,000 are supposed to be bid out by law. Gallagher said there was no intent to skirt that process, the project just grew without officials realizing the $80,000 trigger was exceeded.
"But we'll do better," Gallagher told Fisher. "I'll promise you that, OK?"
The smaller project began because of safety reasons, according to a two-page letter to commissioners from Angie Mullikin, budget and grants manager for the Government Buildings Department.
There were steps and a sidewalk behind and very close to the law enforcement building leading from a hill and Quartz Street above to the back of the courthouse, where there is an ADA entrance.
Among others, county employees parking in a nearby lot used the steps and sidewalk to reach the courthouse quicker than walking around the law enforcement building and cutting through its parking lot.
There is ice buildup on the police building during the winter months and at times, large chunks of ice have fallen from the roof to the sidewalk, the letter said. On at least one occasion, a chunk hit an employee on the head.
There was money in the current county budget earmarked for tearing out and rerouting the sidewalk away from the police building. The county solicited quotes for the needed repairs and only one company, Custom Construction, responded with a price of $9,800.
Officials wanted the project done before winter for safety reasons, but after work began, it was discovered that a large tree stump had to be removed. When that was done, the ground shifted and more problems were discovered.
Then Gallagher stepped in, knowing new ADA policy plans were in motion, and requested the sidewalk and steps be replaced with an ADA ramp. To get that done by winter, the work had to be farmed out to three companies, the letter said.
Custom Construction did the footings and sidewalks on the ramps for $84,000. Nadue Concrete was hired to do the finishing work at $1,500. Hawe Steel was the only company that could do the steel railings in time, which it did for $39,500.
"With the project having unanticipated consequences, a project that had already begun with one contractor, 18-4-306 MCA (a provision in state law) was utilized as an exception to the bidding process," the letter said.
Mullikin told commissioners that stopping the project would have resulted in even more costs because a different engineer and contractor would have to come in and reassess everything before any work continued.
Fisher didn't buy any of it.
He said he read the letter thoroughly and listened to the explanations and the ramp itself was great. It was the process that was flawed, he said.
"Shouldn't we have stopped at the $9,800 and re-evaluated and then put this out to bid?" he said. "It's in excess of $80,000. It's $125,000. What happened, according to the way I read it, was we just kept adding people to it.
"Just because we're the local government, we don't have a right to do that," he said. "We don't have a right to spend taxpayers' money by just going out and saying, 'OK, Custom Concrete, you're gonna do a "90,000 or $100,000 sidewalk' and it's all going to be good."
The council essentially voted to note the letter and explanations and "place on file," meaning the council is done with something.
Mike Smith is a reporter at the Montana Standard with an emphasis on government and politics.
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