Garage project to be trimmed

With the latest estimates showing the project more than $700,000 over budget, city and county officials are scrambling to cut costs of the proposed joint public works garage.Representatives of Ely, St. Louis County and Lake County met with project architects Thursday and identified several options that would lower the price tag, now estimated at $7,576,976.That’s $727,603 more than initially projected, and unacceptable, according to St. Louis County public works official Dave Skelton. Ely’s share of the project jumped nearly $300,000 to $3.1 million in the estimates provided by Virginia architectural firm DSGW, and rather than proceed with the project as proposed, Skelton, other county and city officials and architects worked last week to trim expenses.“I’m not going to go back to any of those (county) boards or (city) councils and be over $7 million,” said Skelton.Architects originally estimated a project cost of about $6.8 million, including $5.5 million for construction of the building on the far east end of town. But after consulting with contractors and taking a detailed look at the plans, the construction budget jumped to over $6 million and the total project cost reached nearly $7.6 million.Higher than anticipated equipment costs, as well as a much larger building (76,500 square feet as opposed to 66,530 square feet) contributed to the increase.“The good news is our cost per square foot ($79.18) is less than we have been budgeting ($82.98),” said architect John Gerzina.But city and county officials apparently won’t support the higher costs associated with the larger building, and they identified several areas for reduction Thursday.They directed architects to reduce the size of hallways and various other areas in the garage, and they called for the elimination of certain project components, including a floor heating system and a rainwater recycling system.DSGW will fine-tune the figures and come up with a new cost estimate this week, but further cuts may be needed to make up for some cost estimates that may be too low, such as $35,000 for the extension of utilities to the building.“If we have to make more reductions at our next meeting, we will at that time,” said Skelton.Plans call for final cost estimates yet this winter and putting the project out for bids by March.By then, Ely must decided whether or not to proceed with the project.The city council allocated over $100,000 for the design phase of the project, but hasn’t yet decided whether to make a final commitment, which would call for at least $2.8 million in payments spread over 15 years.The city is looking for state or federal help to reduce its financial obligation.“We need to get in the (state) bonding bill,” said mayor Roger Skraba. “I’ll grease the wheels for that.”Ely leaders have also met with representatives of U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton (D) and U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D) in search of federal support.The city’s role in the project was questioned Tuesday by Duane Whalen, a regular in the audience at council meetings.Whalen pressed for more details - including how city participation would impact property tax statements and utility bills - and called for a referendum on the project.“I think there’s going to be a lot of taxes (as a result of the project),” said Whalen.Council member Jerome Debeltz told Whalen that he’d only support the project if the city can secure additional funding sources.The push to put the city and county public works operations under one roof has been touted as an opportunity to cut government costs and spur economic development, by supporters such as county commissioner Mike Forsman and council members including Mark Zupec.Forsman said the plan - in which the city would receive the land now occupied by the county garage on Ely’s west entrance - allows for development of the area and would beautify the entrance to Ely.The city would also have the land where the current city garage sits - on Central Avenue - to sell for development.And according to a report issued to the council by Gerzina, the existing city garage is deteriorating, with poor ratings given for accessibility, health and safety, energy efficiency and technology.Zupec said that funding details would likely shake out over the next several weeks.“There are so many things happening at levels higher than the council,” said Zupec. “I think it’s vital that we put some faith toward our elected officials who are higher up... I have faith in commissioner Forsman. I don’t think he would have brought this project to his hometown if it wasn’t a good deal.”