Fairhope, Alabama
DOWNTOWN WELCOME CENTER
At the last council work session, Councilmen Ford and Burrell questioned the high cost of remodeling the restrooms in the Welcome Center building on Section St.
Roberbs Corporation was the lowest of the three general contractors to submit bids ($46,040).
Ford: "That's going to be some bathroom ... they say they just want to make it prettier ... that's a lot of money for a bathroom ... ."
Burrell: "I happened to call (another) general contractor today ... they thought it was a big number ... ."
Community Affairs Director Sherry Sullivan said the upgrades have already been put off for three years and are necessary to improve accessibility for the disabled and repair vandalism damage, plumbing and other problems (sheet rock, fixtures).
Sullivan: "This is the one restroom that services visitors to town. Providing them with a nice updated facility is a good investment ... serve us well into the future."
Mayor Kant agreed saying that 35,000 people use the restrooms yearly: "The reason they were built in the first place was to take care of the downtown merchants ... none of their restrooms are ADA accessible ... ."
Burrell worried about the low number of bidders and cost over-run: "If we keep getting things that come in 20, 30% higher than what we think its going to cost every single time ... only three quotes ... I'm going to start turning some things down ... every time we do a project ... its more, more, more ... Its not 2% more, its 30% more than we thought it was going to be ... ."
Ford and Burrell ultimately wound up voting for the proposal: it passed unanimously.
Work session debate:
Men's restroom condition:
DOWNTOWN WELCOME CENTERAt the last council work session, Councilmen Ford and Burrell questioned the high cost of remodeling the restrooms in the Welcome Center building on Section St.
Roberbs Corporation was the lowest of the three general contractors to submit bids ($46,040).
Ford: "That's going to be some bathroom ... they say they just want to make it prettier ... that's a lot of money for a bathroom ... ."
Burrell: "I happened to call (another) general contractor today ... they thought it was a big number ... ."
Community Affairs Director Sherry Sullivan said the upgrades have already been put off for three years and are necessary to improve accessibility for the disabled and repair vandalism damage, plumbing and other problems (sheet rock, fixtures).
Sullivan: "This is the one restroom that services visitors to town. Providing them with a nice updated facility is a good investment ... serve us well into the future."
Mayor Kant agreed saying that 35,000 people use the restrooms yearly: "The reason they were built in the first place was to take care of the downtown merchants ... none of their restrooms are ADA accessible ... ."
Burrell worried about the low number of bidders and cost over-run: "If we keep getting things that come in 20, 30% higher than what we think its going to cost every single time ... only three quotes ... I'm going to start turning some things down ... every time we do a project ... its more, more, more ... Its not 2% more, its 30% more than we thought it was going to be ... ."
Ford and Burrell ultimately wound up voting for the proposal: it passed unanimously.
Work session debate:
Men's restroom condition:
Comments
Also, is it just me or does Sherry Sullivan's title seem to change somewhat frequently?