The Embassy Square streetscape project already was behind schedule. Now it appears likely to end up over budget.
The City Council’s Public Works Committee discussed the problem last week, and the issue is expected to come before the full council Monday night.
Contractor H.G. Reynolds was supposed to finish the roadwork on Breckenridge, Winder and Wyche streets around the Embassy project by March 30. Wet weather contributed to the delays through the winter and spring, City Engineer Frank Frazier said, but the contractor will face some sort of financial penalty for being months behind schedule.
Frazier said in an interview Tuesday that he’s pleased with the work done on the streets and noted that Wyche Street, which had a deep, car-width trench for months, is done. Aside from a few punch-list items and some landscaping, he said, the streetscape project is complete with one major exception: the traffic circle on Breckenridge Street between the front of the police station and the front of the library.
That circle is the focal point of the streetscape and the center of the entire Embassy Square. It therefore has a special design: Instead of pavement, the circle is supposed to be covered in brick pavers, as specified in the contract.
But Frazier said the million-dollar project, financed with a federal grant, is likely to run over budget by tens of thousands of dollars, so he and the council are looking at ways to save some money. One possibility is to switch from brick to asphalt on the circle.
The city has put the work on hold while gathering information to make the decision about the pavement for the circle. Frazier said he needs to find out whether the bricks are on order; the status of the bricks will affect the city’s potential savings from switching to asphalt.
(That delay will not prevent the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce from holding the year’s second Alive! After Five today at 5:30 p.m. on Breckenridge Street. That event was never meant to extend beyond the police station from Garnett Street, so the completion of the Wyche Street work eliminated any problems.)
City Manager Eric Williams sent a letter to the Embassy Square Foundation on Monday to ask whether the foundation has any money to help with the problem. The letter says the “potential” cost overrun for the project is $61,000 for the pavers and $30,000 for asphalt.
“Although we are looking at other options to cover either overage (with a strong desire to stay with the brick, for obvious reasons) the Public Works Committee (Chairman Ranger Wilkerson and members Ms. Evans and Ms. Yount), during their meeting on 6/13 (along with the staff present, those attending were Mr. Wilkerson, Ms. Evans and Council Member Davis) wanted me to ‘officially request and ask’ if the Foundation had any construction related monies that could be earmarked and/or targeted toward helping to cover all, or perhaps a portion, of the estimated shortfall described above?” Williams wrote.
Williams said his desire is to stick with the brick to help with “the theme, overall quality and cohesiveness of the entire project.” He asked for a quick response from the Embassy leaders because he plans to bring the issue before the council for a decision Monday night.
While the foundation has made clear that it cannot and will not pay any of the city’s $1.8 million in land-acquisition and planning costs for the Embassy project’s cultural side until it has fully funded the library, gallery and theater, the streetscape project is a part of the Embassy construction. It was a relatively late addition to the Embassy Square plans, unveiled to the City Council during a meeting in spring 2001. The surprise announcement that the Embassy work would consume an additional $1 million angered council member Clem Seifert, who is now mayor, but the city later won the federal highway grant to pay for all of the streetscape work.
Williams said in his letter that the city is exploring funding options that aren’t part of the “regular budget” and cited as possibilities money from a related capital improvement project budget and reserve Powell Bill cash, the money the state gives the city to maintain and repair roads.
When council member Elissa Yount brought the matter up before the Finance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Wednesday night, Williams said Powell Bill money will not be used to cover the overage. (Henderson is trying to preserve as much Powell Bill money as possible to boost the size of the general fund balance; even though the money is restricted, the state’s Local Government Commission considers available Powell Bill money when it calculates whether a city meets the 8 percent threshold for savings.)
Click through to Page 2 to see Williams’ memo to Kathy Powell and Sam Watkins.