Sports authority approves escrow accounts and environmental change order, receives stadium progress and DBE/local participation update

The Sports Authority of the County of Hamilton and the City of Chattanooga on April 2 authorized the chair to execute documents to establish escrow accounts with Truist Bank for retainage related to the construction manager-at-risk contract for the South Broad District Ballpark and approved change order No. 1 for SNME Inc. to provide additional environmental quality-assurance services during construction, increasing that task order by $83,810 to a total $156,420.

The board also accepted a financial progress report that added a new line item, "West 20 Sixth Street," to account for stadium-adjacent infrastructure. Authority staff said the city allocated $5,700,000 to the authority for the current fiscal year for that infrastructure and an additional $4,300,000 is planned for the next fiscal year, for a combined total budget of $10,000,000. Staff also noted a clerical error in the capital fund display: an encumbrance of $3,500,000 previously shown for donations was a duplicate of a CIP infrastructure encumbrance and will be corrected; the actual encumbrance for donations is $0.

Bill, a public-works project lead, gave the construction update and described activity on site. "Structural steel in the Third Base Building ... began March 17," he told the board, and said demolition, foundation work, plumbing and electrical rough-in and other trades are active across the site. Staff reported E&J's guaranteed maximum price contract has a little over $15,000,000 spent so far against its cash flow estimates; the total GMP for the stadium was reported as $76,000,000.

The board received updated participation figures for disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) and local contractors. Staff reported about $9,600,000 has been awarded to DBEs (roughly 12.6% of the GMP) and an additional $7,600,000 of contractor commitments are pending certification, which would bring the project close to 23% DBE participation. City staff said some subcontractors meet many DBE criteria but had not completed formal certification paperwork; EMJ and project partners are assisting those firms with certification. Staff said about $60,000,000 of the $76,000,000 GMP (79%) has been awarded to contractors within 150 miles of Chattanooga and 42% of the contract value is to firms within 15 miles.

Two public-works resolutions were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. The first grants the chair authority to establish one or more interest-bearing escrow accounts with Truist Bank so retainage can be held in escrow on behalf of the contractor and earn interest until final release. The board heard that state law requires retainage to be placed into an interest-bearing escrow account when withheld for this type of contract and that the escrow account will be set up in the contractor's name but held until project completion. The second resolution increases an existing SNME Inc. task order to capture additional environmental testing and quality-assurance work identified during site handoffs and continuing construction activity; staff said the additional work was anticipated but omitted from the original task order and that the increase fits within existing purchasing guidelines through the city's blanket contract.

Board members were invited to a site tour after the meeting; staff confirmed a van would be available to transport members and attendees to the site and return them to the City Council building.