Council member wants city to encourage contractors to buy materials locally

Most on the City Council here talk a blue streak about trying to buy as much locally and employ as many local people on city projects as the city can.

It's not isolationism or a new Iron Curtain or Berlin Wall, they assure.

Nonetheless, the council has put in place a buy-local purchasing policy that applies to some smaller parts of the city's business.

Just this week, a council majority decided to pursue a project labor agreement, which they say will ensure local union workers get some significant share of the jobs on the city's $75.6-million Convention Complex. Linn County and the state Board of Regents currently are using these agreements, they note.

And now council member Don Karr is proposing a new creation, what he calls a project materials agreement. The idea is that contractors would be asked or required to purchase locally some amount of the materials that go into one of the big, upcoming city construction projects.

At the same time, Karr acknowledged on Friday that such a demand of a contractor likely would not be allowed by federal or state rules and regulations, but he said it is still worth talking about.

Materials that go into a big construction job cost more than labor, he said, so doing something to encourage contractors to buy lumber, drywall and other items from local suppliers could do more for the local economy than even a project labor agreement might, Karr said.

“We might not be able to create a PMA, but we can create some political pressure to encourage them to spend some money here,” Karr said of contractors who win city jobs.”… It could be huge for the economy of this city.”

Karr, who is retired plumbing and remodeling contractor, also said the city shouldn't be afraid to suggest to someone like Physicians' Clinic of Iowa that it buy materials locally as it builds its $36-million medical mall at Second Avenue and 10th street SE. The city, Karr said, did not include such a request as part of its city incentive package for the project - which includes the closing of a stretch of Second Avenue SE - Karr said. But it doesn't hurt to ask now, he added.