$10.7 million low bid on Linn County office project

Quotes on Linn County's next big building project came in under budget this morning, with a Davenport firm the apparent low bidder.

Hillebrand Construction's basic bid of $10,705,847 for the Jean Oxley Public Services Center may be formally accepted by supervisors at Wednesday's meeting, assuming it passes legal review. Hillebrand's contract could be reduced by $170,230 if supervisors opt for terrazo floors instead of ceramic tile, and by another $11,120 if they choose a newer electric-powered elevator to replace the traditional hydraulic type, according to Garth Fagerbakke, the county's construction manager.

The Oxley Center, to be built in and around the gutted former Administrative Office Building, 930 First St. SW, carried an $11.5 million estimate. The project is funded through $4.4 million in state IJOBS money, another $4.5 million from a state appropriation, and $2.2 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The other bids:

• Bush Construction, Davenport: $11,259,000; deduct $2,500 for terrazo, and $11,100 for the new-design elevator.
• Kleiman Construction, Cedar Rapids: $11,533,747; deduct $49,280 for terrazo, no bid listed on new elevator.
• Knutson Construction, Rochester, Minn.: $11,760,000; deduct $2,500, $11,120.
• Larson & Larson, Urbandale: $11,545,000; no savings for terrazo, ADD $264,000 for new-tech elevator. Fagerbakke said Larson & Larson may have misunderstood the bid specification.
• Miron Construction, Cedar Rapids: $11,036,000; deduct $2,700, $22,600.
• Stahl Construction, St. Louis Park, Minn.: $11,335,000; deduct $30,000, $10,000.

Supervisors will award a contract at Wednesday's meeting, set for 10 a.m. at Linn County West, the county's Westdale Mall complex.

Supervisors also reviewed plans for another major project, a projected $7.4 million addition to the county correctional center. A three-story addition of about 10,000 square feet on the rear of the present building will house storage space and a new laundry, freeing room elsewhere for 12 new isolation cells, an expanded kitchen, and “flood-proofed” electrical and mechanical systems.

Sheriff Brian Gardner said the new isolation cells will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the work will allow jailers to separate prisoners charged with serious misdemeanors and felonies from those facing only misdemeanor charges.

The jail held about 375 prisoners this morning. The project will bring its capacity to about 400, Gardner said.

The supervisors' review allows Fagerbakke to prepare specifications for contractors' bids, which could be received by mid-September.