Vienna City Council narrowly approves contract for pool renovations
The finalized Jackson Park pool design, which was approved in December, is included. (Image Provided)
Charlie Taylor of United Construction Co. Inc answered Vienna City Council’s questions regarding their submitted $6.8 million pool construction bid at Thursday’s special council meeting. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
The finalized Jackson Park pool design, which was approved in December, is included. (Image Provided)
Charlie Taylor of United Construction Co. Inc answered Vienna City Council’s questions regarding their submitted $6.8 million pool construction bid at Thursday’s special council meeting. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
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VIENNA -- In a special meeting of Vienna City Council on Thursday, a $6.8 million construction contract was awarded to United Construction Co. Inc. for the Jackson Pool renovation project.
The vote was 4-3 on the action.
The issue previously failed in a 3-3 tie vote at council's Aug. 11 meeting.
Recorder Melissa Elam asked City Attorney Russell Skogstad to explain why council was able to do another vote. Skogstad said the same issue can't be brought up again in the same meeting, but it doesn't prevent the issue from being presented at the next meeting. He also said he and Mayor Randy Rapp confirmed this information with an ethics commission.
Elam said she invited Charlie Taylor from United Construction Co. Inc to address questions brought up at the previous council meeting. She also addressed the comparison between Southwood Park and Jackson Park renovations being handled.
"I have no issue with how Southwood Park is running their pool," Elam said. "Parkersburg has designed it the way they wanted it to be designed, they went through their process and they will be happy with the results. We are the city of Vienna and this is our pool. We have a great design, we have a great company who's going to do it."
"My goal here is simply to supply council with adequate information," Taylor said. "From a contractor's perspective, it's your decision to be made. I'm not trying to persuade you one way or the other."
Taylor said if UCCI was to complete the renovations within 270 days as written in the bid contract, council needed to approve it Thursday night. He said the goal to open the pool was by May 27, 2024.
Taylor said the biggest cost difference between the Southwood and Jackson Pool was the Jackson Park pool was going to completely remodel the bathhouse and the pump house, while Southwood would not.
"The pool is expensive, but everything being designed is top of the line and should be a high quality product that requires very minimal investment for decades to come," he said.
Council members Roger Bibbee and Jim Leach were joined by Elam, and Rapp in voting for the project. Council members Kim Williams, Tom Azinger and Chris Mancuso voted against it.
The next item on the agenda was to approve a resolution authorizing to finance up to $4 million of the pool project through tax exempt lease revenue bonds. The proceeds from those bonds would be reimbursed by a federally required building commission to the city. The vote was split again, with the same people voting the same way.
The final item on Thursday's agenda was to name the members to the Municipal Building Commission from the previous item. Rapp said that all three members were Vienna residents and not members of the same political party, as required by law. The names were Karmyn Conley, Chuck Noffsinger, and Rod Smith. The motion passed unanimously.
Kristen Hainkel can be reached at khainkel@newsandsentinel.com