DRIPPING SPRINGS — After much anticipation, the downtown restroom facilities in the city of Dripping Springs are moving forward.
On Nov. 5, Dripping Springs City Council unanimously voted to approve the selection of a bidder and the authorization for the city administrator to finalize an agreement for the city’s Downtown Restrooms Project, also known as the Mercer Street Restrooms Project. This is among several Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) projects, including the preservation and restoration of the Stephenson Building and expanding more parking options in downtown.
“This is a project that is very important to the city of Dripping Springs,” said city attorney Laura Mueller.
There were four proposals for submitted bids: Sadie Burche at $362,495; De Haro Ramirez Group at $406,585; Jonestar Construction at $470,430 and Noble Construction at $477,700. Ultimately, per staff’s recommendation, the council approved the award of the contract to Sadie Burche based on evaluation of the proposal response packages, which included an evaluation score summary that assessed the following:
• Qualifications and similar project experience, including references (out of 20 points)
• Experience with construction of city, county, state or federal government building facilities (out of 20 points)
• Timeline and previously demonstrated ability to stay on schedule (out of 15 points)
• Value engineering recommendations (out of five points)
• Fee/pricing (out of 40 points) Following the presentation, council member Sherrie Parks questioned if city staff had any concerns about Sadie Burche being able to complete the project during the short timeline, or building phase, as they scored the lowest on the timeline portion of the evaluation score summary, with getting 11.8 out of 15 points.
“No, I don't. They proposed 120 days.
We were hoping for 90 days and that timeline schedule comes from that expectation, but it also comes from their showing their past performance,” responded Chad Gilpin, city engineer. “They show us information that shows past schedules that they've had and how they achieve that schedule. So, there's a look at past performance, no matter how long the schedule was, just that they achieved it. And then, there's a look at the schedule that we were hoping for on this project. Most of the bidders indicated that it'd be problematic to do it in 90 days, so that, coupled with the pricing and the other scores, it really didn’t affect their bid.”
Echoing Parks’ sentiments, mayor Bill Foulds also questioned whether city staff is comfortable with maintaining the timelines: “We've got two projects that need to be finished before Founders Day. Council's not going to be happy if either one of them is not finished, I believe. It’s a fair statement. So, you feel very comfortable that we're going to have somebody stay within those timelines?”
Gilpin responded that yes, he is confident that the bidder will stay within the timeline, which he clarified that it will be 120 days as several of the bidders indicated that the initial requested timeline of 90 days can be “problematic.”
The next step would be to finalize the agreement with the bidder and then, in order to “avoid both Christmas on Mercer and Founders Day, we would be able to build those bathrooms between those two dates,” Mueller explained. “The only event that we have in downtown in that timeframe is Brewers Fest, but we will work closely with the Parks and Community Services Department to ensure that there's no issue …. as these are being constructed.”
Dripping Springs City Council meets next at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the DSISD Center for Learning and Leadership, 300 Sportsplex Drive, Dripping Springs. The council will meet at this location until city hall is renovated.
More information about current TIRZ projects in the city can be found at www.cityofdrippingsprings.com/tirz/ priority_projects.
