Sandusky County Park District approves $1.4 million renovation of Rotary Lodge

On By Vaseline

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FREMONT – The Sandusky County Park District has received approval from park board commissioners for Phase 1 of the $1.4 million expansion and renovation project of the Rotary Lodge facility.

In selecting Telemon Construction, the board relied on the more expensive of two bids for the first phase, which meets grant requirements and is expected to result in a lower final cost for the entire three-phase project.

“When we first got this park, back when it was River Cliff Park, in 2017, we enlisted the help of Thomas Porter Architects and had a vision to renovate this building right back then,” says Park District Director Andrew Brown. . “We do not yet know the date for final delivery. We look forward to taking the first steps in phase 1 in early to mid-May so that we can really get started, depending on permits and the like.”

Before the Park District took ownership, the site was a nine-hole golf course.

The board approved the contract with Telamon Construction during an April 17 meeting.

Breaking down the bidding options and funding sources

The two submitted bids related to the pre-construction and the general contract. The combined total of the Dotson proposal was $182,379 and the Telemon total for Phase 1 was $432,341. The entire project is expected to cost $1.4 million.

Andy Knopp, principal at Thomas Porter Architects, addressed the differences between the two proposals in a letter Brown presented to the board.

“(The Dotson Company’s) explanation of the approach to project phasing was based on viewing the entire project as one overarching construction project, and therefore Dotson’s view of completing Phase 1 would have resulted in an incomplete project that created a problem with (the Park The District’s ability to meet the terms of the grant awarded for a “completed” construction project, as determined in the request for proposals package. It was clear at that time that The Dotson Company had no confidence that their personnel assignments would consider the project as three separate construction projects as directed,” Knopp wrote.

The multiple phases of the project are required due to funding source requirements and the multiple funding sources, including state funds and Rotary funds.

Knopp also believed that Dotson’s workforce issues were addressed by Telemon’s bid, as well as multi-phase needs.

“Steve has also identified some value-added suggestions to reduce overhead costs during pre-construction by delaying the start of Phase 2 construction until the final decision on Phase 3 financing has been determined to combine these two construction phases , which would significantly shorten the duration of construction. construction,” Knopp wrote.

The Park District is using a variety of sources to fund the project, which Brown said is a reflection of the facility’s many uses.

“Rotary is still raising money for the next phases. There is still $250,000 of state capital to be spent. We’re trying to get that money spent because we’ve applied for additional phases and we’re hoping to get approval for that, so we need to get that money spent so we can do more,” Brown said.

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