County opens Tower bids

Davison County must find at least $357,500 to pay for the demolition of the Tower Building on Miller Avenue.

That’s what the county commissioners learned Tuesday after opening four bids for the job that ranged from a low of $515,000 from Mitchell-based Vanderpol Dragline to a high of $669,818 by Schoenfelder Construction, also of Mitchell. The commissioners took no action on the bids.

Commission Chairman David Weitala noted that it will cost more to demolish the building than the $425,000 the county paid for it in 1993. Only a small portion of the facility was filled with offices over the years, and the building was expensive to maintain. The commissioners made the decision last year to demolish the structure.

Thus far, only $157,500 has been found to put toward the demolition project. That money is from a community development block grant procured through the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Commissioners must find the remainder of the money in an already tight budget.

“It’s a little higher than we had hoped for,” Weitala said, “but it’s got to be done.”

Commissioner Gerald Weiss expressed similar disappointment.

“It surprised me,” he said. “I was hoping we’d come in under $400,000.”

Other bidders were Veit Specialty Contracting and Waste Management, of Rogers, Minn.; and Soukup Construction of Sioux Falls.

Bidders were asked to submit two bids: one for an immediate demolition start with an Oct. 31 completion date, and a second that allows for a discretionary fall starting date and a required March 31 completion date.

The Oct. 31/March 31 bids were: Soukup Construction, $550,581 and $550,581; Veit, $585,460 and $585,460; Vanderpol Construction, $595,000 and $515,000; and Schoenfelder Construction, $669,818 and $615,818.

Starting date flexibility was included to get the county a potentially lower project price, Ruml said, since contractors are sometimes willing to lower prices to keep their crews busy during slower winter months.

Ruml had no specific information on why the out-of-town contractors offered no price differential for a fall construction start.

The bids were opened and analyzed by County Maintenance Supervisor Mark Ruml and Planning and Development District III Planner Eric Ambroson, who determined that all bidders met basic project bidding requirements.

They will further examine bids and make a final recommendation to the commissioners on June 15. The commissioners can award the job on that date, but they also have the option of rejecting any or all bids.

Assuming that the commissioners accept the lowest, or $515,000 bid, that means the county must raise another $357,500 to complete demolition work.

Weitala said the commissioners will begin discussions on where to find that money at their June 10 meeting.

While no money other than the grant has been budgeted for demolition, Weitala said keeping the Tower Building was never a feasible option. The county would have had to spend a minimum of $350,000 for a new furnace and roof merely to maintain the building — part of the former Methodist hospital — in its present, dysfunctional condition.

Commissioner Jerry Fischer estimated that improving the building’s functionality would have cost the county at least $1 million.

“In the end,” Weitala said, “demolition is still a solution to an economic problem.” Whatever the costs of demolition, he added, the county will no longer be saddled with expensive utility and maintenance costs.

Auditor Susan Kiepke said the county typically has about $300,000 in contingency funds to cover departmental budget shortfalls, and it also has some budget reserves that could be available. The amount of those reserves was not immediately known, she said.

“It depends how comfortable the commissioners feel about lowering those reserves,” she said.

In other business Tuesday, the commissioners:

• Approved the appointment of former commissioner Bernie Schmucker to the canvassing board that will meet June 10 to certify results of the June 8 primary election. Schmucker will replace Commissioner John Claggett, who will be out of town on personal business.

• Received a brief annual report from Planning & Development District III Executive Director Greg Henderson, who told the commissioners that Davison County has received a cumulative total of $29.9 million in benefits for the $445,407 in dues the county has paid since it joined the district in 1973.

“That’s a return of $67 for every $1 invested,” he said.

Henderson, in his 25th year as director, said, “We’re your organization and we work for you.”

• Briefly discussed the status of unused, county-owned land south of the Public Safety Complex on Miller Avenue.

Commissioner Weiss said the county should consider selling the land to raise needed tax income. Commissioner Claggett concurred.

“My feeling is that we should either have a plan for the land or get rid of it,” he said.

Commissioner Fischer felt the county should retain the property for future use.

Weitala deferred any further discussion to a future time.

“It’s a good item to put it on the backburner,” he said. “The first thing is to get the Tower Building down.”

• Approved a 50-cent per hour probationary increase in pay for Deputy Auditor John Thomson, effective June 12. The commissioners also authorized Thomson to sign county checks.

• Approved a request by Community Health Nurse Shannon Tobin to run an Aug. 12 Car Seat Clinic at the community health nursing offices parking lot.

• Approved a raffle permit request from the Davison County Democratic Party for an Oct. 19 raffle to raise funds for party candidates.

• Approved, at the request of Sheriff Dave Miles, the addition of Greg Nelson to the county on-call employee list for county transportation. Nelson would be used when needed, but only on a parttime basis.

• Heard a request from Miles for about $2,081 to pay for the cost of moving antennas and other equipment from the Tower Building to a new location. Miles said his office budget shouldn’t be impacted, because his office did not initiate the move. Kiepke said the costs were correctly assigned to Miles’ department, but the commissioners could decide to supplement the sheriff’s budget at the end of the year if a budget shortage appears imminent.

Tags: tower building, county commission, news, local