Board cleans up capital accounts, rejects Ninth Floor HVAC bid and approves ADA elevator contract and funding

Oklahoma County's public improvements committee on Oct. 13 approved a cleaned-up capital projects budget, rejected a single bid for a comprehensive Ninth Floor HVAC replacement, and approved a contractor and funding recommendation to replace a courthouse ADA handicap elevator.

The nut graf: Staff and the committee reconciled multiple open capital projects (some dating back to 2017) and proposed closing inactive lines to return $840,599.53 to an unallocated capital balance. The committee rejected the single design-build bid received for an all-floor Ninth Floor HVAC replacement, and separately accepted Thompson General Contractors’ proposal to replace an ADA handicap elevator, adding a 15% contingency and recommending $100,000 be requested from the capital improvements regular fund (Fund 2010) at Budget Board.

Budget cleanup and unallocated funds County staff reported they reviewed project records back to 2017, closed inactive projects and reconciled two projects with negative balances: Courthouse 11th Floor stairwell egress (negative $5,158.98) and Courthouse security improvement (increase needed $17,152.20). After closing completed projects, staff said $840,599.53 would be returned to an unallocated capital balance. Staff also said an expected insurance settlement of about $275,000 for a recent courthouse flood should be posted within 7 to 10 days and — when received — the funds would be returned to unallocated balance for future use.

Ninth Floor HVAC The county solicited design-build proposals for a Ninth Floor HVAC replacement and received a single bid from Orcutt Mechanical Contractors. Committee members said the single response and the total cost meant they were not comfortable proceeding. The committee voted to reject the Orcutt Mechanical Contractors proposal.

Courthouse ADA elevator replacement For the courthouse handicap elevator replacement, the county received a single proposal from Thompson General Contractors for $84,593.43. The committee accepted Thompson’s proposal and voted to recommend that Budget Board fund the work. County staff recommended a $100,000 request to Budget Board to cover the contract plus a contingency (the committee approved recommending Fund 2010 for that request).

Owner’s-rep updates and other projects An owner’s representative reported progress on annex elevators (asbestos abatement quotes pending for the annex elevator work, with a target to start early November) and on other capital projects including behavioral-health facility work, front-entrance abatement and the Fifth Floor renovation (target early January completion). Several elevator-related projects (metro 1 & 2 and ICB elevators) were reported ahead of schedule.

Ending: The committee approved the budget cleanup and authorized staff to submit the recommended line-item changes to Budget Board. It rejected the Ninth Floor HVAC bid, accepted the Thompson General Contractors elevator contract and recommended $100,000 in funding to Budget Board.