Charles City unseals City Hall renovation bids

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Bids have come in for the Charles City Hall/Police Department renovation project.

Three bids were unsealed at City Hall on Thursday afternoon from contractors vying for the project. Henkel Construction out of Mason City, Dean Snyder Construction out of Clear Lake, and Kingland Construction out of Forest City each submitted a bid.

“All three bidders are quality bidders, so that was certainly good to see,” said City Administrator Steve Diers. “We’re still working through the numbers, but the apparent low bid is to Kingland Construction.”

Diers said Kingland Construction is a familiar contractor to the engineering firm Bergland & Cram, which is overseeing the renovation project. While the bid won’t be officially awarded until the City Council makes its decision, the presumption is that Kingland will have the low bid.

“It’s within the realm of everything we’ve been looking at,” said Diers. “We’re still dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s, but things are looking pretty good.”

While the bid is within the city’s projected budget range, the exact project amount will depend on which options the City Council ultimately decides on going with for the renovation. Each bid included several alternates that will raise or lower the cost of the project.

“There’s going to be different options in here for the council to think about,” said Diers.

The city has been working with a range of $4-5.1 million for construction costs; though there are still architect costs, contract work and contingencies to be considered along with the potential that funding through the EPA Community Change Grant could allow for additional work to be done.

The council will review the bids and begin considering its options during its upcoming workshop meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 11.