Clallam County balks at cost estimate for Carlsborg sewer construction management

()

()

PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners expressed sticker shock Monday over a proposed $974,000 contract with a Seattle-based consultant to oversee construction of the Carlsborg sewer.

Board Chairman Mike Chapman said he would not support the agreement with Gray & Osborne Inc., saying he was “a little suspicious” of the amount.

“I’m not going to sign this contract,” Chapman said bluntly.

Commissioners directed staff to analyze the cost of managing sewer construction with county employees. A comparison of those costs versus the price of an outside consultant will be discussed in a future work session.

Too steep

“I can’t justify these costs,” Chapman said. “I don’t care what the industry standards are. That’s highway robbery of the taxpayer.”

Public Works Administrative Director Bob Martin recommended the contract with Gray & Osborne, which has worked for Clallam County in the past.

Martin said the original plan was to share construction management with a consultant, but engineers in the road department have raised concerns about staff availability.

“They are going to be pretty involved in other county projects this year, so the survey staff may not be available to us,” Martin said.

“Some of the inspection staff that we were proposing to use also may not be available to us.”

The amount of money budgeted for construction management did not change with the new recommendation, Martin said.

“Instead of doing part of it in-house and part of it with the consultant, we’re doing more of it with the consultant and less of it in-house is what this boils down to,” Martin said.

Gray & Osborne had identified local subcontractors for the one-year project, including a surveyor and inspector, Martin added.

Commissioners opened seven bids last week for construction of the long-planned sewer system.

Pacific Civil & Infrastructure of Federal Way was the low bidder at $9.03 million. The low bid was about $2 million less than the engineer’s estimate.

The seven proposals will be reviewed by staff and the county finance committee before a contract is awarded in mid-April.

“What you’ll see shortly is a re-evaluation of the total project cost that reflects the bid prices, the bid opening that we just had,” Martin told commissioners.

“So the total project cost will go down, assuming that the apparent low bidder is the contractor that we award.”

The selected contractor will build a pump station along Carlsborg Road and lay miles of sewer pipe to transport effluent to the treatment plant in Sequim.

Chapman, a 16th-year commissioner who is not seeking another term this year, said Gray & Osborne’s asking price for construction management was “embarrassing.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just not buying it,” Chapman said. “I don’t buy that 10 percent of a project cost is just for construction management.”

Commissioner Bill Peach, a retired forester, said 5 percent or 6 percent for construction management is more common.

First-year Commissioner Mark Ozias asked Martin for more data.

“In order for me to fully understand why you’re pushing this scenario, it would be helpful to know what you compared it to and a little bit more about your decision-making process,” Ozias said.

“I’m not as familiar yet with projects of this scope, but I had a similar thought when I reviewed it over the weekend. It seemed like a huge amount of money.”

Field inspection

Chapman noted that nearly $300,000 of the proposal was for field inspection.

“I’m not going to look the taxpayers in the eye and say ‘Yeah, there was one person, a field inspector on the job for a year, and their firm made almost $300,000 of your taxpayer dollars,’ ” Chapman said.

“You guys can do it. You guys can go to the chamber of commerce. But you don’t think people are going to poke holes in that and it’s going to be a front-page story? That’s insane. And that’s just flat-out ripping off the taxpayer.”

Commissioners suggested that a senior engineer manage sewer construction. A junior engineer could be hired to gain experience on smaller road and trail projects, Chapman said.

Clallam County must complete the sewer system by April 1, 2017, to secure a lower interest rate on the $10 million loan it received from the state Public Works Trust Fund to build it.

The 0.25 percent interest rate would jump to 0.50 percent if construction were delayed.

The county will repay the 30-year loan through its Opportunity Fund for infrastructure projects. The fund is supported by state sales tax revenue.

________

Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Hurricane Ridge day lodge funding held up in Congress

The fate of $80 million in funding to rebuild… Continue reading

Judy Davidson, left, and Kathy Thomas, both of Port Townsend, look over the skin care products offered by Shandi Motsi of Port Townsend, one of the 20 vendors at the second annual Procrastinators Craft Fair at the Palindrome/Eaglemount Cidery on Friday. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Procrastinators Market

Judy Davidson, left, and Kathy Thomas, both of Port Townsend, look over… Continue reading

Services could be impacted by closure

Essential workers won’t get paid in shutdown

A now-deceased male cougar was confirmed by Panthera and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staff to have been infected with Avian influenza on the Olympic Peninsula. (Powell Jones/Panthera)
Two cougars infected with bird flu die

Risk of human infection still low, CDC says

D
Readers contribute $58K to Home Fund to date

Donations can be made for community grants this spring

Jefferson Elementary School in Port Angeles designated Thursday dress up like a candy cane day. Back row, from left to right, they are: Wyatt Farman, Ari Ownby, Tayo Murdach, Chloe Brabant, Peyton Underwood, Lola Dixon, River Stella (in wheelchair), Fenja Garling, Tegan Brabant, Odessa Glaude, Eastyn Schmeddinger-Schneder. Front row: Ellie Schneddinger-Schneder, Cypress Crear, Bryn Christiansen and Evelyn Shrout. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Dress like a candy cane

Jefferson Elementary School in Port Angeles designated Thursday dress up like a… Continue reading

EYE ON THE PENINSULA: Jefferson commissioners to meet on Monday

Meetings across the North Olympic Peninsula

A 40-year-old Quilcene man died and a 7-year-old boy was airlifted to a Seattle hospital after the car in which they were riding collided with the back of a school bus on Center Road on Friday morning. (East Jefferson Fire Rescue)
One dies in two-vehicle collision involving school bus

A 40-year-old Quilcene man died and a 7-year-old boy was… Continue reading

Iris McNerney of from Port Townsend is like a pied piper at the Port Hudson Marina. When she shows up with a bag of wild bird seed, pigeons land and coo at her feet. McNerney has been feeding the pigeons for about a year and they know her car when she parks. Gulls have a habit of showing up too whenever a free meal is available. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Feeding the birds

Iris McNerney of from Port Townsend is like a pied piper at… Continue reading

Property purchase intended for housing

Port Angeles envisions 18 to 40 residents

Housing, climate top Port Townsend’s state agenda

City also prioritizes transportation, support at Fort Worden

Dennis Bauer gets emotional while testifying at his triple murder trial in January 2022. His conviction was overturned by the state Court of Appeals and remanded back to Clallam County. (Paul Gottlieb/Peninsula Daily News)
Appeals court overturns murder conviction

Three-judge panel rules Bauer did not receive fair trial