Site work on the Cookeville’s new Energy Department facility set to begin as early as next Monday.
Energy Department Director Carl Haney said bids for the site work completely so work can begin before the fall and wet weather come. Haney said the low bid of some $1.9 million came back under budget. Haney said he will ask City Council to approve spending some $2.3 million.
“There’s three subphases to the work,” Haney said. “The bulk of its in subphase one, which is the building pad and the majority of the fill. After that, phase two is around where we got some wetlands behind us. It’s going to encroach into it, it’ll be for the retention ponds and some other work.”
Haney said the department has applied for an Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit for the project. Haney said if the permit is not in by the time subphase two begins, there will be a $15,000 remobilization fee.
Haney said he will ask to get that money approved in the event that the permit comes in late.
Haney said the timeline for subphase one of the project is about ten weeks, and he hopes it is complete by early November. Haney said the proposed start date is September 1, but work could begin as early as Monday since the needed documents are ready. This is pending approval from the City Council.
“For both phase one and phase two, it’s a 20-week completion time,” Haney said. “And the third phase won’t happen until they actually get the building done, the new part of the building done, and we get moved into it.”
Haney said after the move is complete, the Energy Department can release the old space so work can begin on the project’s third subphase.
Haney said he asked for bids on rock as an alternate to using fill dirt for the project. The low bid called for rock over fill dirt anyways, so a switch would not cost any additional money.
Haney said the increase from $1.9 million to $2.3 million included contingencies, as well as a few items not covered by the bid.
“There’s a temporary fence that’s not in theirs added on to that,” Haney said. “$1.9 million goes to $2 million because there’s temporary fencing, there’s miscellaneous like clean up and stuff that W&O will perform or have them perform.”
Haney said traffic control was also excluded from the bid, so those costs are covered in the increase. The Cookeville City Council will vote on a change order to start construction at Thursday’s meeting.
