Coralville to restart search for contractor to lead $54 million rec center project

CORALVILLE — Coralville will look to restart its selection process for a contractor to manage construction of a new recreation center after the City Council last month voted down city staff’s recommended contractor, citing concerns about the selection process.

City staff members do not anticipate the restart to cause any delays in the estimated $54 million rec center project that includes three gymnasiums, an elevated track, a spa and three pools.

Assuming no other delays, the plan is to break ground later this summer and open the facility in fall 2028. The decision to restart the contractor selection process was made at a council meeting earlier this week.

The city is looking to hire a construction manager at risk, meaning the city will enter a contract with a construction manager who will manage all subcontractors and other work, as well as work directly with the architect on the project. The construction manager at risk process often is used for projects with a long construction time and the need for several types of specialized work.

The city required prospective contractors to submit qualifications such as experience on similar projects, references and financial information. Companies are required to be able to carry bonding for an amount that’s one and a quarter times the estimated cost of the project.

Council members Hai Hyunh, Katie Freeman and Royce Peterson — who voted against the recommended contractor at the Jan. 27 council meeting — took issue with the timing of when the contractor references were evaluated in the selection process.

Once the final contract is awarded, the construction company will be liable for any costs that exceed the agreed-upon price of the project. This is the first time the city has used the construction manager at risk process, which has been an option for public entities since 2022.

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Council voted 3-2 against awarding contract last meeting

Following the initial construction manager selection process, city staff recommended Russell Construction.

A committee — made up of representatives from the city, Iowa City Community School District and Neumann Monson, the architectural firm on the project — scored each of the five construction firms that responded to a request for qualifications.

The committee scored pricing proposals, interviews with the firms and other project materials. After reviewing everything except for references, Miron Construction had the highest score, followed by Russell.

Following the addition of references, Russell emerged as the recommended contractor. City Recreation Director Sherri Proud said both companies do great work, but the committee was looking specifically for experience building competition pools.

“We always check references at the end of this process. ... We've done this with trail projects. We've done this with consultant projects. We haven't always taken the highest score in those processes until we get done (with the whole process),” Proud said at a council meeting last month.

The council voted 3-2 against awarding the contract to Russell Construction, with the process for references being the primary concern.

Council member Peterson said he felt the references should have been evaluated during the request for qualification portion of the process, not at the end of it.

“It is concerning that City Council is being told that references are the reason the committee wants to change from the highest scoring company to another company,” Peterson said at a council meeting last month.

Other council members who voted down the recommendation wanted the references to be scored numerically. For other construction projects, the city typically does not apply scores to references.

“We can argue about where the references fell in the process. Bottom line is, they still were part of the process. And references, I don't know how many of you have actually been in positions of hiring people, but I have, and references are extremely important ...” council member Rich Vogelzang said last month.

The City Council and staff members plan to discuss more specifics of the selection process later this month during the council’s Feb. 24 work session.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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