VALDOSTA — Valdosta City Council members approved a change order to install a new roof on the joint city and county crime lab during its regular session meeting Thursday evening.

The decision was reached after an executive session to discuss the roof issue and potential litigation. According to Hanson, city officials recognize the importance of keeping the project on track, but they also understand the importance of being good stewards of taxpayer funds. He added that the city did not expect to learn of such a condition as the need for a new roof during construction.

The council approved a change order for up to $360,000 to allow the contractor to install the roof following the receipt and review of three written bids by City Engineer Von Shipman. The change order is for direct costs of the roof and engineering fees only and excludes architectural fees. The order also includes payment to the contractor for lost work time.

Nonetheless, the city attorney is still legally reviewing the matter to determine who is ultimately responsible for the costs.

“To keep the project moving forward, the Mayor and Council accepted the recommendation of staff to utilize one half of the contingency set aside for the project, or $124,250, along with other SPLOST contingency funds reserved for project overages in the amount of $91,667, and to withhold $144,083 from other projects pending negotiations with other parties,” said Hanson in a prepared statement. “The city’s goal is that no other project will be affected by the unforeseen circumstances associated with this one.”

The City of Valdosta purchased the McCranie building from the Valdosta State University Foundation. It was later determined to be an ideal location for the new city/county crime lab.

When initial walk throughs were conducted on the building and during subsequent examinations by architects Ellis, Ricket and Associates, significant structural problems with the roof were never addressed, according to City Engineer Von Shipman. The metal roof, which had been installed in 1995 to replace the pre-existing flat roof, had a projected life expectancy of 50 years, Shipman said.

The crime lab construction contractor contacted Shipman about two weeks ago and told him that he would not be able to continue work on the interior of the building until the roof was repaired. The contractor discovered the problems with the roof when working in the attic to core holes for various ducts and fume hoods needed for the crime lab. The structural problems do not allow the roof to expand and contract properly under different weather conditions, causing the roof to leak.

Shipman said that construction on the roof would take 110 days. The cost to replace the sloped metal roof could cost $366,120. Included in the estimated cost for the new roof, the contractor would be paid $77,000 due to cost incurred for suspending work.

Steve Hart from Ellis, Ricket and Associates said that on the original walk throughs conducted by the firm, minor leakage problems were located and identified concerning the roof.

In other business, the council unanimously approved an ordinance to annex and rezone 7.9 acres from General-Commercial (C-G) and Highway-Commercial County (C-H) to Community-Commercial (C-C) and Highway-Commercial (C-H) City as requested by the City of Valdosta. The properties are located on the west side of Bemiss Road just south of Cherry Creek Church Road.

Other items discussed were:



Awards and Presentations

• Franklin Brown Jr. from the Public Works Department received the Employee of the Month Award.

• Valdosta Police Cmdr. Brian Childress recognized seven traffic enforcement officers for receiving an honor from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. He added his appreciation for Valdosta Police Chief Frank Simons and City Engineer Von Shipman. VPD Sgt. Earl Durrance presented statistics on the decreasing number of traffic accidents in the city. Childress then presented Mayor John Fretti with a certificate of appreciation for the city’s support of the Valdosta Police Department.



Local Funding and Requests

• The council unanimously approved a revised resolution for Downtown Development Revolving Loan Fund for 101-103 South Patterson Street and

106-108 West Hill Avenue.

• The council approved a request from the Valdosta Police Department to apply for grant funds for the 2008 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant for Local Jurisdictions Award.