Renovation Expenses Exceeding Expectations
Pictured, from left, are Mayor Eddie Sundquist and City Council President Anthony Dolce, R-Ward II. P-J photo by Timothy Frudd
Pictured, from left, are City Councilman William Reynolds, R-Ward V, and City Councilwoman Marie Carrubba, D-Ward IV, during Monday’s City Council work session meeting.
Pictured, from left, are Mayor Eddie Sundquist and City Council President Anthony Dolce, R-Ward II. P-J photo by Timothy Frudd
Pictured, from left, are City Councilman William Reynolds, R-Ward V, and City Councilwoman Marie Carrubba, D-Ward IV, during Monday’s City Council work session meeting.
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With expenses on the renovation of the new Public Works Garage facility quickly exceeding the city's initial estimation, city officials discussed potential funding opportunities for the project during Monday's City Council work session meeting.
Public Works Committee Chairman Randy Daversa, R-At Large, told City Council members that the city's expenses on the new Public Works Garage facility have been "coming in over budget." According to Daversa, the city allocated $2.8 million to the budget for the renovation of the facility and has already spent over $3.9 million on the project.
"It's going to be something that we'll have to deal with at some point, but there's also an anticipated grant for $1 million that is going to help a lot," he said.
Daversa added that the Public Works Committee is hoping to have Jeff Lehman, former Public Works director and a project engineer on the new Public Works Garage to make an appearance at the next City Council meeting to provide an overview and explanation of the rising cost of the building.
Following Daversa's Public Works Committee report regarding the Public Works Garage, Mayor Eddie Sundquist explained that the $2.8 million was "not a budgeted number." Instead, Sundquist said the $2.8 million was what the city borrowed in order to pay for work on the new facility.
"I will pull the original amount that we looked at for the the creation of that building," he said. "To make a new building on Crescent Street was going to be significantly more. We'll get you those exact numbers, but the $2.8 million was just what we pulled to pay for expenses. We tried to be very conservative and not pull the whole amount, so we're trying to get what's left over what we're going to eventually add to the bond, and then we do have a million coming back."
City Councilwoman Marie Carrubba, D-Ward IV, questioned why the city did not allocate any of the American Rescue Plan Act funding for the new Public Works Garage when the opportunity was available.
While Sundquist said that the city "certainly" can still use ARPA funding to cover some of the unexpected expenses on the new Public Works facility, Carrubba pointed out that with all the expenses expected on necessary improvements to City Hall and other municipal buildings, the city should have considered using ARPA funding for the project months ago.
"We're looking at $3 million, not to mention the roof and the terrace here that's leaking, and we're pretty much down to a couple million left in ARPA funds," she said. "It just doesn't look like great planning and we should be addressing these issues with the ARPA funds."
In response to Carrubba's comments, Sundquist told City Council members that the city currently has $1.7 million in remaining ARPA funding that could be utilized to help reduce the amount the city will have to bond for in the future.