Victoria MN Newspaper-City Scoop

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In responding to questions from city councilmembers. Mr. Sonnichsen said the company hadn't done a steel building in the last ten years but such a building "can go up fairly quickly." He replied that it might be tough, however, to do it for the city's projected cost. "It depends on the design," he said.

"My gut tells me you've got an aggressive budget and you want a lot for the least amount. Can it be done? Yes, but there won't be bells and whistles."

Replying to other questions he said, "There's a one-year warranty. We do an 11-month walk through. We have two or three projects going in the next 18 months. This will be my third one ... About 70 to 80% of our projects are public, with 20 to 30% of them private ... Average price of our projects ranges from $6 million to $10 million."

RJM Construction

Paul Kolias, project executive, and Mark Dongoske, project superintendent, presented for RJM Construction, Minneapolis.

Some of the highlights of their presentation included: "We want to get you the most bang for your buck. The more we communicate, the more we can get done. I look at it as my money.

"We're the 10th largest in the state, which is a pat on our back for working hard. We're continually looking to improve our market share. We're currently working in Maple Grove, Medina, and Edina. We like to build relationships.

"We understand the sensitivity of a publicly funded project. We know there's a specific budget that we want to maintain. We want to keep the quality and the schedule. We want to listen to your vision.

"It's a challenge to keep the quality up. We want to make sure the project is clean, is done, and you're happy with it. It's a challenge to keep the subs going sometimes. Steel is a fairly economical way to get a building at low cost. You're not looking for a Taj Mahal. You're going to need a strong team to get it done within your budget. If it's $10,000 or $10 million, you've got my attention either way.

"We anticipate parallel tracks for both buildings, five months construction time."

A&P Construction

Carey Ottman Everson, project manager, and Neal Seppelt, superintendent scheduler, presented for A & P Construction, Minneapolis.

Some of the highlights of their presentation included: "A & P was founded in Minneapolis. The corporate office is here. It's a family owned company, a national firm, 65 years in business.

"You have to answer to the taxpayers and the people who are going to work in the buildings and maintain the buildings. The first thing we do is evaluate and validate the budget and put everything into a framework. We'll help maintain the overall cost budget. We would try to minimize change orders through the bidding process.

"We anticipate four to five months of pre-construction and are anticipating construction of 10 months. If we get the project done in six months, you save four months of cost. We have extensive experience in the public sector. We'd be here every day.

"We feel confident the two buildings are achievable, but are a little fuzzy on the Public Works building. The site, the utilities, and results of soil borings can make or break a project.

" We propose three bid categories -- general, electrical, and mechanical. The electrical contract, for example, would have their own superintendent out there.

"We'd have a staggered start so we wouldn't be doubling up on equipment, which saves dollars. This would be a great project for us. You've got a beautiful town here."

Staff Comment

Said City Manager Don Uram, "I've had conversations with most of the proposers, also with their references. It's one of those things, as Stahl said. Any one of them can do the job. I thought it was interesting what they said about the budget, that it was tight."

He also commented that A&P had the highest bid but it's based on a 10-month construction. The other two bids were based on a 5-month construction.

Said City Engineer Cara Geheren, "I think they [the presentations] were interesting. They all offered unique approaches. RJM has a lot of people on the project. That brings expertise that adds cost. My gut reaction is that it's overkill."

Public Works Superintendent Chuck Almjheld said he liked the staggered approach of A&P Construction.

Council chose Stahl Construction.

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