Libertyville parking deck project facing new delay
When the construction of a long-sought second parking deck in downtown Libertyville will begin and who will build it remain undetermined as delays continue for what is considered an important but potentially disruptive project.
Soliciting new bids has extended the expected deck completion to sometime in January, and now another two weeks could be added as bidding requirements are reviewed before a choice is made.
The latest snag happened Tuesday as the village board decided to delay a vote to accept a construction bid so Village Attorney David Pardys could review the bidding process, including how some language was interpreted and whether certain guidelines could be waived. The next village board meeting is April 12.
"Two weeks is not a lot of time when we've already extended once," Mayor Terry Weppler advised board members during the meeting.
"I don't like pushing it back two weeks, but it is what it's going to be," Trustee Scott Adams said Wednesday.
The deck to be built on village-owned surface parking south of the Libertyville Civic Center and St. Lawrence Episcopal Church originally was envisioned as being done by Thanksgiving to spare merchants and restaurants in the thriving downtown from dealing with construction during the busy holiday shopping season.
Parking is expected to be harder to find because existing parking will be eliminated while the deck is being built, and construction traffic may make it difficult for visitors to get around. The village is working on a plan to minimize disruption that includes a multipronged communication program, additional parking at various locations and a shuttle bus.
The delay began Jan. 12 when the village board rejected the first batch of bids because the lowest was $1.4 million over the original estimate of $8.3 million. Village officials were told that was due mainly to an increase in the cost of concrete and concrete panels, which is the majority of the building material used in a parking deck.
The design was changed to cut costs. As a result, the number of parking spaces dropped from 340 to 317 and only a partial underground level will be built.
In information considered Tuesday by trustees, village staff members recommended accepting the third-lowest bid of about $8.77 million, which was $368,000 higher than the lowest bid.
The rationale was that Accel Pacific Joint Venture did not meet specified bidding qualifications requiring that one structure similar to the Libertyville project had been completed in the last five years and three similar ones done overall.
Representatives for Accel challenged the recommendation, saying the collective body of professional experience of its team leaders rather than the work history of the company as an entity meets requirements.
The second-lowest bidder, McShane Construction Co., also was rejected by the staff because of an apparent change in the schedule that would delay when late fees of $1,000 per day would begin. Thomas Beres, vice president of McShane, said all the information except a notation on one page supported the village's timeline.
Two trustees were absent and Weppler recused himself from the discussion because he owns property in the special financing district that will be used to pay for the deck.