Progress of snowmelt system draws concerns

Tue, Jan 5, 2010    to del.icio.us

Even with City Council's approval to take bids for the distribution piping for the Washington Avenue snowmelt system, there was some serious discussion Monday night regarding the project's scope and course in the future.

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"I have a grave concern for where this project is going," Councilman Ed Nieuwenhuis said.

Nevertheless, the proposal was approved by a vote of 4-1, with Councilman Mike Fritz voting against it.

Fritz said he believes the citizens of Grand Haven deserve having City Council take a second look at the plans and would be in favor of scaling back the project by taking away the snowmelt portion.

According to engineering estimates, the cost of the snowmelt distribution contract is nearly $1.8 million, bringing the total cost of the Washington Avenue project to about $6.8 million. Original estimates for the downtown reconstruction project were about $5.6 million.

The snowmelt portion of the project consists of connecting the system to the Board of Light & Power's J.B. Sims power plant on Harbor Island with Washington Avenue. Piping would be bored underneath the Grand River to make the system whole.

"Seeing this project grow 20 percent is a grave concern," Nieuwenhuis said, adding this increase comes before contractors have put a shovel into the second and third phases of the project.

He wasn't alone. Mayor Roger Bergman and councilmen Bob Monetza and Dennis Scott also voiced their concerns about the cost of the project.

Monetza said he is in favor of putting the snowmelt system together due to the difficulty of doing it in the future. However, he said he would like to see some type of list created where city officials could look at ways of amending the overall cost of the project.

Council members also approved steel repair work at the Sims power plant, which would house the new pumps and heat exchangers for the snowmelt system. Also approved by a 4-1 vote, this project will cost $40,103 and is included in the $1.8 million contract for the snowmelt work. This work must be completed prior to the March 1 start of mechanical work at the power plant in order to keep the construction project on schedule.

Fritz, who opposed the snowmelt work contract, was also the sole council member to vote against the work at the power plant.

According to City Manager Pat McGinnis, getting this project approved and started on time is critical to the overall downtown reconstruction timeline.

"We need to get it done in order to stick to our schedule," he said.

The downtown snowmelt system is set to become operational by the end of November.