The Finance Committee met 02/24/2025. They had 9 action items on the agenda, all of which they approved unanimously with minimal discussion during a 15-minute meeting. Items which might stand out most to the public were the request to award the Pierce Park Pavilion Renovation Project contract and the approval of some preliminary resolutions that will allow the city to levy special assessments for underground utility work and initial street pavement and sidewalk installation.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
ITEM 25-0157: Request to award the 2025 Pierce Pavilion Renovation Project contract to RJM Construction, LLC in the amount of $391,300 with a 15% contingency of $58,695 for a project total not to exceed $449,995 – This item included a request to carryover 2024 budget dollars of $38,867 to the 2025 budget to help pay for this project.
Director of Parks and Recreation Dean Gazza told the committee that there was a lot of lead paint in the pavilion that needed to be stripped before the building was repainted. They needed to start working on that soon in order to have the pavilion ready for the city band concerts and other activities that were scheduled for the spring. For that reason, they brought this budget carryover request earlier than they were scheduled to bring their normal budget carryover request in order to be able to keep the project on schedule.
The project included a 15% contingency which was on the higher side and was intended to help cover the cost of fixing any problems that might arise as the project progressed. Director Gazza specifically mentioned wanting to fix any rotten boards that had not already been identified and noted that a lot of the columns were rotted.
ITEM 25-0159: Request to award the Appleton Wastewater Treatment Plant 2025 L-Building HVAC and Receiving Station Upgrades Project contract to August Winter & Sons, Inc. in the amount of $3,969,472 with a 12% contingency of $476,337 for a project total not to exceed $4,445,809 – Initially the HVAC and Receiving Station Upgrades had been two separate projects, but there was a lot of overlap between them so city staff determined it would be more efficient to combine them into one project. Initially, the city had allocated a little over $2 million for the HVAC improvements, but the addition of the receiving station upgrades resulted in it costing an addition $1.9 million. Staff was proposing to cover these additional costs by transferring left over funds from the Primary Clarifier Rebuild Capital Improvement Project and the Blended Sludge Piping and HEX Replacement Capital Improvement Project to the L-Building HVAC project.
As with the Pierce Park Pavilion Project, city staff wanted to start the project sooner rather than later which is why they had included the carryover request for left over funds from 2024 projects now instead of waiting until when they would normally request to carry over previous year dollars.
ITEM 25-0160: Request to award the 2025 Appleton Wastewater Tunnel Painting Project contract to Bosk Paint and Sandblast, Inc. in the amount of $201,165 with a 10% contingency of $20,116 for a project total not to exceed $221,281 – This item received three competitive bids, and city staff was comfortable and happy with those bids.
ITEM 25-0161: Request to approve Finance Committee Report for Preliminary Resolution 1-P-25 for Sanitary Laterals, Storm Laterals and Storm Main Construction – This will allow the city to levy special assessments for the underground utility work being done on Alexander Street, Bell Avenue, Bellaire Court, Durkee Street, Lawe Street, and Melrose Avenue.
ITEM 25-0162: Request to approve Finance Committee Report for Preliminary Resolution 2-P-25 for Concrete Pavement, Driveway Aprons and Sidewalk Construction – This will also the city to levy special assessments on various properties on the north side of the city who are receiving initial concrete pavement, sidewalks, and driveway aprons on Aquamarine Avenue, Baldeagle court, Baldeagle Drive, Denali Road, Golden Gate Drive, Harrier Court, Osprey Drive, Peregrine Boulevard, Rubyred Drive, Cherryvale Avenue, Providence Avenue, and Perkins Street.
Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) mentioned that some of the residents on Cherryvale were very interested in receiving their bills for this project.
ITEM 25-0163: Request to award Unit B-25 Asphalt Paving to Vinton Construction Company in the amount of $1,285,258.51 with a 3.2% contingency of $41,000 for a project total not to exceed $1,326,258.51 – Deputy Director of Public Works Pete Neuberger noted that the documentation in the agenda packet incorrectly listed this as the “A-25 concrete paving” project but it was actually for the “B-25 asphalt paving” project. The dollar amounts and the rest of the information in the document were correct, but the work description was wrong.
ITEM 25-0164: Request to Sole Source Engineering & Construction Services Contract to Donohue & Associates, Inc. for AWWTP Anaerobic Digester Inspection, Maintenance, and Improvements Project in the amount of $293,755 with a 10% contingency of $29,375 for a total not to exceed $323,130 – Alderperson Hartzheim said that she always got nervous about sole source contracts but there seemed to be background support for such a contract. Donohue has experience working with the digesters back in 2010 and 2012. They have also been providing preliminary engineering services related to the digesters over the past few months.
The memo included a timeline of anticipated work that went from February 2025 – January of 2026 in four phases. Utilities Director Chris Stempa told the committee. Phase four included the possibility of installing an impressed current cathodic protection system if it was determined during the previous phases that such a system was warranted. Utilities Director Chris Stempa told the committee that actually installing that system was not planned for because it was still unknown whether or not it was needed. [I took that to mean that if it needed to be installed it would not be covered by the existing budget for this project.]
ITEM 25-0171: Request to approve Contract Amendment #2 to McMahon for Phase II Solids Dewatering Equipment Upgrades for additional design and construction management services in the amount of $13,300 increasing the contract amount from $188,900 to $202,200 – This item was approved unanimously with no discussion.
ITEM 25-0172: Request to award AWWTP Column and Plank Storage Upgrades Bid to Staab Construction in the amount of $353,000 with 2.5% contingency of $8,825 for a project total not to exceed $361,825 – This item was approved unanimously with no discussion.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1274643&GUID=55464CE6-2E7B-44D5-85FB-B0C4146817D0
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