The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

October 28, 2008

Material pricing delays judicial annex bids

Raleigh county commission

By Mannix Porterfield

Difficulty by some contractors in nailing down the current costs of materials prompted the Raleigh County Commission to delay Tuesday’s planned opening of bids on the proposed judicial annex.

Instead, the commission agreed to forestall any action on a possible contract until its next regular meeting, set for Nov. 10, a Monday since the normal Tuesday meeting is Veterans Day.

Commissioners gathered in a special meeting only to learn that the architect for the project, Silling Associates Inc., Architects/Planners of Charleston, asked that the bid opening be delayed because general contractors were uncertain about the costs of materials needed for the project.

“Our concern was that if we have the bid opening today we would lose maybe as many as four general contractors not being able to have a bid prepared because they couldn’t get the quotes from suppliers,” commission president Pat Reed explained.

All it amounts to is about a 10-day delay in the construction process, she pointed out, since bids should be on the table at the Nov. 10 meeting.

“Our main concern is that we have as many contractors as we can, because the more contractors you have, I think the better bids you get,” he said.

“We want to be sure to give them every opportunity. And hopefully, we’ll have somewhere in the neighborhood of eight general contractors bidding on the annex.”

A dozen general contractors attended the Sept. 20 pre-bid opening.

So far, the project has cost some $2 million in architectural fees, demolition, relocation of utilities and acquisition of the property along Heber, Main and Fayette streets, right in the heart of what once formed the anchor of the downtown business center, chiefly the G.C. Murphy Co. store.

Despite the tight lending policies of many banks in the midst of the Wall Street meltdown this month, the commission has encountered no difficulty in getting a $5 million loan for the project.

Reed said the judicial annex bids will be at the top of the agenda at the next commission meeting.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com

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