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Fresh eyes, old questions for revised RDC group
A new-look Greencastle Redevelopment Commission (RDC) encountered some old issues when it got its first glimpse of the parameters of the Putnam County YMCA project Wednesday evening.
With three new members on board, the RDC may have a different perspective but raised several of the same questions the previous commission had about the ongoing project on the city’s East Side.
With two change orders in front of the RDC, former City Councilman Cody Eckert, one of the three new appointees who were sworn in prior to the start of Wednesday’s meeting, revived the issue of the $28 million project’s maximum guaranteed price, asking how much of an increase in cost can be attributed to the four-month delay caused by a water issue.
Ready with an answer was Jon Gilmore, president of Tonn and Blank Construction, Indianapolis, the city’s construction management firm on the community center project.
“The guaranteed maximum price is based on the scope of the work defined by construction drawings,” he said, reminding the RDC that the gym flooring was an addition, as were the costs of the delay caused by “bad soil conditions.”
City Attorney Laurie Hardwick agreed that “the guaranteed maximum price would be the price of the project without changes.”
Tonn and Blank project manager Ross Warner noted that Hardwick and Mayor Lynda Dunbar have a stack of paperwork on their desks concerning additional costs caused by the wet soils, an issue that will require further evaluation and was not on the agenda Wednesday in the absence of Mayor Dunbar.
“We’re working through it right now,” Hardwick said of the backlog. “That’s why you don’t have it for this meeting.”
“We appreciate you all doing this detailed review,” RDC Chairman Erika Gilmore, who along with City Councilor Stacie Langdon, was reappointed to another one-year term on the commission, told Tonn and Blank’s Gilmore.
“The nice thing about this type of delivery method,” he continued, “is that it’s transparent. You see everything. There’s a reason why it’s going up, not because Tonn and Blank wants more money. It’s the scope of work.”
Two change orders were unanimously approved by the RDC, who in addition to Eckert welcomed new members Chris Flegal and Brice LeBlanc, both mayoral appointments. Flegal is co-founder of the Putnam County Mural Project and leadership giving director at United Way of Central Indiana. LeBlanc pastors at New Providence Baptist Church and is a corporate consultant specializing in organizational change management.
Change order 14 involves lighting the flagpole at the site, a $6,080 addition, while change order 15 addresses winter conditions for the period Jan. 5-26 at $15,261.94.
Addressing the latter, Warner said “if you drive past the site, the entire stair tower is scaffolded and wrapped” with heat being pumped into it. Without the delay, that work wouldn’t have been necessary as the building would have already been enclosed had the project been on its original schedule via a March 2023 start, Warner added.
Tonn and Blank’s Gilmore addressed the water-related delay at the site.
“We ran into ground water,” he explained, “and we literally couldn’t figure out why the site was saturated with water. Long story short, we ran into undocumented field tiles from 50 to 100 years ago.”
Piping was run to pump the water out and eventually the water problem was in the rearview mirror this past summer.
“It was a struggle to get there, but once we found the culprit, we were able to fix the problem,” Jon Gilmore added.
Eckert asked how certain the contractors are about that fix.
“Are there any more field tiles out there we can expect to run into?” he asked.
“No,” Jon Gilmore assured, “we’ve moved past that problem.”
Updating the YMCA project, Warner said progress is going well now with the warmer weather at hand. February work will include masonry and steel efforts, while March will see “exterior walls and stuff like that,” he said.
In other business, the RDC:
• Received a brief overview from Hardwick on the duties of the RDC and the function of the Greencastle TIF (tax increment financing) District. Capturing the difference in taxes via additions and improvements in the district, the city gets about $2 million a year via the TIF district, she said, noting that funds were set aside for the YMCA project “because we knew that project was coming.” Typically most of the projects involving TIF funds are capital projects. The funds cannot be used for maintenance.
• Agreed to two required real estate appraisals for the acquisition of a small piece of property at the dead end of Avenue E so that a school bus turnaround can be created there, making things simpler for city fire trucks to turn around as well. City Councilor Katherine Asbell, in the audience for the meeting, noted that school children currently have to walk over to Fifth Street to catch the bus in the morning and that several parents accompany them over and risk being late for work in the process. Developing the turnaround, she said, is “a nice community gesture and parents in that area will be able to get to work on time.” Hardwick estimated that appraisals would total $1,000.
• Approved an $1,800 addition to a contract with Baker’s Septic relative to property at South Street and Zinc Mill Road adjacent to city limits and the potential site for housing development. The $1,800 was listed as a “reasonable additional expense” to add a standpipe, rock and drainage tile after the site was retaining water and not draining properly.
• Approved an agreement assigning the city’s contract with Bona Vita Architects to Elevatus Architecture, the purchaser of the Fort Wayne architecture firm that has worked on the YMCA project.
• Elected officers for 2024 with Erika Gilmore again serving as president, Eckert as vice president and Flegal as secretary.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the RDC is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 at City Hall.