Bid for Veterans Memorial Demolition $1 Million Less than Expected
Franklin County will spend about $1 million less than officials estimated to knock down Veterans Memorial.
County building officials have recommended that the county commissioners approve a contract with S.G. Loewendick & Sons, of Grove City, to demolish Veterans Memorial and prepare the site for the construction of the Ohio Veterans Memorial and Museum, which will replace it. The commissioners will vote on the contract this morning.
Loewendicks bid for the work came in at almost $1 million less than the about $1.85 million the county expected to spend on the demolition, but it was not the lowest bid. Lowendick said it would cost $897,000 to do the job.
The lowest of the 12 bids the county received came from a company called Homrich, located outside of Detroit, for $673,000. But county officials found several problems with Homrichs bid, including that it did not account for all the elements of the demolition and did not define a timeline and completion date for the work, according to a letter the county sent the company.
It was not Buckeye bias, against a Michigan firm, Commissioner Paula Brooks said yesterday.
She said county officials and assistant prosecuting attorneys looked at all the bids carefully to ensure they were fairly ranked and the best bid chosen.
James A. Goodenow, the countys director of public facilities management, said Loewendick is a well-known local company that the county has worked with in the past.
One reason the company can charge less is because it does not have to pay as much to move its equipment to the Veterans Memorial site; other bids came from companies in Cleveland and Cincinnati and from as far away as cities in New York and Texas.
The only other central Ohio company to bid on the project was Watson-General Contracting, of Newark, but at a cost of almost $100,000 more than Loewendicks.
The other bids ranged from $1.3 million to nearly $2 million.
The companies also factored into their bids the amount of money they could make reselling scrap metal from the demolished building, Goodenow said, including 500 to 700 tons of steel.
The contract the commissioners are expected to approve sets a 105-day deadline to complete the demolition.
Not everyone is happy with the move, which is just the latest in a series of decisions that have long foretold the end of Veterans Memorial.
Steve Ebersole, a member of the local American Legion, said from the groups standpoint we are still opposed to the destruction of Vets Memorial.
Rick Isbell, Mayor Michael B. Colemans veterans affairs coordinator, and a member of the veterans task force that has been advising the design of the new statewide museum, said he thought many local veterans had come to terms with the building coming down, however.
He said that the design team behind the new memorial and museum had been receptive to input from local veterans. The new building will do a better job of educating the public about the sacrifice and contributions of Ohios veterans, he said.
Right now you cant take your kids to Veterans Memorial to teach them about veterans, Isbell said. Theres nothing there.
Tags: Veterans News
