Renovations at Bainbridge Township Town Hall have officially begun, starting with the service department performing various work on utilities in the basement, officials said May 12.
Renovations at Bainbridge Township Town Hall have officially begun, starting with the service department performing various work on utilities in the basement, officials said May 12.
The renovation project — which would include demolition of the room cap and the basement — was fast-tracked in February after Drew Thompson, of DS Architecture, told township officials the town hall was dangerous and should be closed immediately.
“Based on our professional assessment, there is a substantial risk of catastrophic structural failure, posing a serious threat to the health, safety and welfare of all occupants,” Thompson said in a letter to officials. “Given these concerns, we strongly recommend that the entire town hall building and surrounding area be temporarily vacated as a precautionary measure.”
Only two construction companies bid on the project March 28, said Jeff Myers, of DSA, an architecture firm based out of Cleveland.
Despite DSA providing an estimated cost of $600,000 earlier this year for renovations to the town hall, the lowest bid for the project came in at $934,000, Myers said during the April 14 Bainbridge Township Trustees meeting.
According to Ohio Revised Code Section 153.12, a project cannot exceed 20% more than the estimated cost.
As a result, trustees voted to decline both bids last month and asked DSA to redraw the renovation plans within four weeks at no cost to the township. They also decided some things could be taken out of the estimate and handled in-house at a lower cost.
“(As for the) town hall, all existing underground utilities have been marked,” Bainbridge Township Assistant Service Director Alex Hansel said at the May 12 trustees meeting.
The service department is working with six contractors: D.E. Williams Electric, of Chagrin Falls, for electrical equipment; Cable Communications, of Chagrin Falls, and Spectrum for establishing the line between fire and police; Monroe Plumbing, of Burton, for capping the gas line; Geauga ADP to establish final connections; and Baumann Enterprises, of Cleveland, to do the demolition of the room cap, Hansel said.
“HVAC has been disconnected, electrical is in the process of being moved to the remaining portion of the basement,” he said. “We’re working with a contractor to establish a connection between fire and police for the firewall move.”
DSA will be present at the next trustees meeting May 27 at 7 p.m. to provide trustees with the updated drawings, as requested.
