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City awards low bid for National Guard armory renovation as partners seek grants for childcare center
Summary
The Clinton City Council approved awarding the renovation contract for the old National Guard armory after receiving a low bid of $2,335,000; city officials said they will remove optional items from the scope while partners pursue federal and state grants to offset costs and support a proposed childcare program for essential workers.
The Clinton City Council voted to award the low bid for renovation of the old National Guard armory and to proceed with negotiations to reduce the project scope to fit available funding.
City Manager Roger Hauck said three bids were received and the low bid, from Skilled Services Quality Construction, was $2,335,000. Hauck told the council the city will negotiate change orders to remove some items from the scope to reduce the price and that the project also has a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) award earmarked for the daycare portion of the renovation.
Hauck said the architect and the project manager at East Tennessee Development recommended awarding the low bid but that the city expected to “pull some things out of it to lower that” amount. He said the city originally budgeted roughly $800,000 for the project and that the low bid came in substantially higher than that estimate.
The council heard that project partners — Clinton City Schools and the Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley — are applying for additional funding. Bart McFadden of the Boys and Girls Club and school officials worked on a Department of Human Services grant application that Hauck said could return “possibly $1.3 [million]” for part of the project; Hauck said there is no guarantee the grant will be awarded.
Hauck described program goals for the renovated armory, including childcare targeted at essential workers and city employees. He said the program would help employee recruitment and retention by making childcare more affordable for families of police officers and firefighters. “It’s also will be a recruitment and a retention for our employees,” Hauck said.
Hauck told the council the city’s plan is to accept the bid and then negotiate scope reductions because the bids are only valid for 60 days; he said the alternative would be to decline the project. He added the city had met with the architect and contractor to identify discretionary line items that could be removed or replaced to lower the cost.
The council approved a motion to accept the low bid and proceed with the recommended negotiations. At a later point the council also approved Resolution 8‑48 to authorize additional CDBG funding for the armory daycare project.
If outside grants do not cover the gap, Hauck said the city would likely fund roughly $1.5 million of the remaining cost, and that other city capital needs would require careful planning to accommodate that expense.
The project scope as described to council includes a new roof, heating and air systems, new windows, ADA-compliant restrooms and doors, and other interior renovations. Hauck noted some site work and parking-lot items would be removed from the contract and handled by public works where feasible.
The council vote to award the low bid passed; the motion was made and seconded during the meeting and the mayor called the vote in favor.
The city will continue negotiating with Skilled Services Quality Construction to cut optional work and pursue the Boys and Girls Club and Department of Human Services grants before finalizing the contract.
