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By GEOFF FRANK
Projected costs of the reroofing project at Wells County Jail went up this week.
The Wells County Board of Commissioners voted 2-0 to approve added work expected to lead to an additional $5,789 in the price of the project.
The amount represents the current cost in excess of the county’s $15,000 contingency allowance.
Mark Van Allen of RQAW Consulting Engineers & Architects explained that one problem has been overcome less expensively than expected, but another is likely to push costs above the project’s contingency amount.
At the board’s July 17 meeting, Van Allen explained that screw-type fasteners could not be used to attach the roof to the jail structure because the contractor could not get enough “bite” or frictional resistance in some locations.
Van Allen expressed his appreciation for efforts by the general contractor and the roofing subcontractor in trying different solutions to resolve the issue.
They were able to stay well under the contingency allowance with a cost of $5,246 for the direct glue installation process.
In mid-July, the change in the fastening procedure was expected to take most of the contingency.
The added materials and labor hours originally had been expected to total more than $14,000.
The efforts by the contractors to hold down the extra cost, however, resulted in $9,754 being left in the contingency allowance.
The new roof has been installed over the jail housing area, but last week, as work moved to the higher administration area, the contractor found there was twice as much insulation on the roof as shown on building documents.
Additionally, the roof drains are higher than expected which presents problems in getting water to them.
One solution — at an added cost of $35,559 — would have been to install an equal amount of new insulation, which would have put the project about $25,805 over the existing project budget.
Instead, the board accepted an option recommended by Van Allen to lower the roof drains and modify the roof curbs.
The $15,543 work would consume the remaining amount of the contingency fund and then require another $5,789 above the project budget.
Commissioners Paul Bonham and Kevin Woodward joined in the 2-0 vote to accept the RQAW recommendation. The third commissioner, Randy Plummer, was not present because of work-related obligations.
Van Allen will authorize the contractor, Harold McComb and Son of Fort Wayne, to proceed with the work to lower the roof drains.
In other jail-related business at Monday’s meeting, the commissioners:
— Heard Sheriff Barry Story report that the jail count on Monday was at 98, including 28 Department of Corrections inmates and 70 local inmates. The total number is higher than the 80 to 85 level that is most effective for operation of the jail under the classification system required by the state, he noted. Story indicated he has tried to reduce the number of DOC inmates because of the increase in the local population. Some DOC inmates were taken recently to LaGrange to reduce the numbers at Wells County Jail.
— Authorized County Auditor Mary Towne to sign a document once it is verified that the jail reroofing project did receive roofing materials and supplies valued at $55,932.88. Van Allen will verify that the materials actually were received. The county was served with the documents from collection attorneys in Indianapolis, according to County Attorney Trent Patterson. The documents make reference to Shelter Distribution Inc., formerly known as West Roofing & Supply Company Inc. vs. Bambi’s Roofing Inc., Ken M. Collins and Brenda L. Collins. The notice was given so the county would notify the surety for the general contractor, McComb & Son.
gfrank@news-banner.com
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