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Buried woes stall city hall project
By DAVE SHELTON
Article published on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 |
BELLEAIR BEACH – The 50-year-old City Hall stood dark Feb. 28 while City Council members heard the bad news on plans for their new building – underground problems could stall the project for months and increase its cost by up to $200,000, or more.
The council convened inside of a freshly-painted garage with room for 30 occupants, according to the fire department. The garage is connected to temporary city offices in a former home adjacent to the city complex.
It was the first public meeting held in the garage, a special meeting called by Councilman Rob Baldwin to report on the new city hall project. He said projected costs could now rise to $100,000 more than the $3 million budgeted, partly because of a new public works building being added to the project.
Worse news, though, was that soil tests proved the ground where the buildings are planned contains dozens of feet of fill, making some kind of stabilizing needed. Baldwin said there were three options. The least expensive would be to dig out the buildings’ footprints and truck in more solid dirt.
A drawback to this option, he said, is that the ground would have to be left to settle for up to four months before construction could begin.
A better choice would be either driving wooden pilings into the ground or sinking stone columns to stabilize the ground. Either could cost another $100,000, Baldwin said.
Perhaps even more of a problem is discovery of underground telephone system cables right where the building was planned to be built. Baldwin said the telephone company would let the city build on the easement as long as they can still access the cables.
Baldwin said Verizon engineers are more concerned with the possibility of damage to the lines during construction. He said they seemed most worried about their lines if the city excavated the site and refilled it.
Council members agreed with Baldwin’s recommendation that the city plan to use either pilings or stone columns, even at a greater cost, to protect the cables.
Councilwoman Mary Schoonover, however, said she believed the city should negotiate tougher with the telephone company.
“I don’t think we should roll over and play dead,” Schoonover suggested.
Baldwin countered that the phone company does hold all of the cards, since it appears to legally own the easement and could block the city hall project. He said he would continue talks with the phone company representatives and, if necessary, could move the building away from the easement.
At the council’s March 3 regular meeting, a half-dozen men were given engraved plaques for having served on the city’s building committee and for helping ready the temporary offices. Honored for service on the building committee were Dick Williams, Bert Cutler, Jim Corrigan, Mike Kelly, Rudy Davis, Skip Chittenden and Lee Cieslak.
For “swinging hammers” according to Mayor Linn Rives, the following received awards: Rudy Davis, Joe Burke, David Dumville and Ed Wisniowski.
Demolition of the old city hall is scheduled to begin March 18, according to Rives. On the night before, a special council meeting will be held for Dumville to be sworn-in as a councilman. He will replace Schoonover who chose not to seek re-election.
After the swearing-in ceremony, Rives announced, council members will adjourn to the former city hall with sledge hammers to take the first swings at the old building.
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Article published on Wednesday, March 5, 2008
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