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FAIRMONT-- The Fairmont City Council on Monday again discussed whether or not it should hire a new owner's representative for the proposed community center project. The council held discussion on the matter at its last meeting on March 27 following the departure of its previous owner's representative, Tegra, which pulled out of its contract earlier this year.
Council Member Britney Kawecki, who had asked for the discussion item to be added to the agenda, said that the position of owner's representative was budgeted for in the total cost of the community center project and whether or not Kraus-Anderson, the construction company on the project, does the job, they're still charging for it.
She said the definition of an owner's representative is to represent the owner, the city, and to oversee the contractors, architects and engineers.
"We as council have been elected to represent the citizens who will be owners of this building. I feel it's in the best interest to hire an owner's representative," Kawecki said.
She said she believes the council should put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an owner's representative, because it is in the best interest of the citizens of Fairmont.
Council Member Randy Lubenow, who was sworn into his role of representing Ward 3 on Monday, said that he does not support a community center at all costs. However, he said he's adamant about having Tegra as an owner's representative because he's been working on the project for a long time and was previously told by other companies that Tegra is the best.
"When we talk about spending the money wisely, Tegra has proven they can do that," Lubenow said.
He said he believes Tegra would work with the city again if it was willing to work with them and take their suggestions.
Council Member Jay Maynard said that he felt losing Tegra was a "significant blow" to the city's ability to get the project done.
"We all know our staff works hard... we put a lot of load on them and they do an admirable job of shouldering that load, but what we have done... is increased the load associated with the community center on our staff," Maynard said.
City Administrator Cathy Reynolds said that right now working on different aspects of the community center project takes up about 50 percent of her time and a portion of Financial Director Paul Hoye's time. She said the addition of an owner's representative wouldn't really change that.
"It takes some work off but you're still involved, you're still engaged.... even when we had Tegra on board it wasn't like the city staff wasn't doing anything on the project," Reynolds said.
She pointed out that the city is currently without a Public Works Director and that there are other projects happening in the city. She asked the council what its priority is on how she spends her time and whether it wants to direct her to take the time to put together an RFP.
Kawecki made a motion to move forward with putting together an RFP for an owner's representative on the project. Maynard seconded the motion so that discussion could be held.
Lubenow said that he thought starting over would be a waste of time. He said that Tegra is the best owner's representative and that he would not support starting over with a new owner's representative.
Kawecki asked whether Lubenow would like to amend the motion. Lubenow made a motion to negotiate to bring back Tegra under the same contract. Maynard seconded it.
Council Member Wayne Hasek said he was under the impression that Tegra didn't want to work with the city. Lubenow said that Tegra didn't want to work with one city staff member.
Council Member Michele Miller asked Lubenow to clarify. Lubenow said that he heard from a staff member at Tegra who said they were unable to "win over" Reynolds. Miller asked how the project could go forward without the involvement of the city administrator.
"What are you proposing that you're going to do? You're going to supersede the city administrator just to get Tegra back?" Miller asked.
Several council members spoke about personal email exchanges that they have had with staff members at Tegra. Miller asked Reynolds to clarify some information that was shared.
Reynolds said that Kraus-Anderson has a construction manager at-risk contract. She said that negotiations were done by staff at Tegra. Reynolds also said that there was some information that was not shared with the city but with other key players on the proposed community center project.
"If you want to bring in Tegra and for us to have those conversations with Tegra, I am more than happy to do that, but I do ask for council members... to remember that there are two sides to every story," Reynolds said.
Mayor Lee Baarts put an end to the discussion as he said no more back and fourth conversations were needed.
In a roll call vote, the amended motion passed 4-1 with Lubenow, Maynard, Miller and Kawecki in favor and Hasek opposed.
In other business during Monday's meeting, the council, Reynolds provided an update on the Public Works Building. While the building was complete enough to occupy last spring, Reynolds said that they were waiting on some final steps to take place.
"The electrical inspection was finalized in March of 2023. Once we had the final electrical inspection we were able to send the building official out there to do his final inspection of the facility and a certificate of occupancy was issued in April of 2023," Reynolds said.
She said they're continuing to work on two items. A contractor is putting together a hood to go over the intake vent to prevent snow from coming in. More work is also being done on an air handling unit.
The final budget on the project was also shared. The total construction cost was about $9.6 million and Reynolds said that they had just over $9.7 million budgeted for the project. The remaining balance on the project is $160,497. She said that does take into account the hood that's being fabricated.
"Work is done, almost, other than a little warranty work and one last fit," Reynolds said.
After receiving confirmation that the building was occupied on time and completed under budget, Maynard said, "I would hope that some of the comments in the community that intimate otherwise will... the people making those comments will realize that they are incorrect."
In other news, the council:
-- Heard a presentation from Ashley Brenke with Martin County Soil and Water Conservation District about One Watershed, One Plan.
-- Approved an event permit for Celestial Discs--The Tournament at the End of the Universe, to be held on May 20 at Cedar Creek Park .
-- Awarded the 2023 seal coat project to Pearson Bros, Inc., which was the low bidder on the project at $139,908.