Aurora approves RiverEdge Park construction manager

An Aurora construction firm will be paid 9.85 percent of the cost to build RiverEdge Park’s Music Garden under a construction management contract Aurora City Council approved Tuesday night.

The Music Garden’s actual construction cost, however, is yet to be determined.

R.C. Wegman Construction Company will help the city run a bid process to choose contractors and set the cost of two Music Garden construction projects: Blues Island restoration and site work and buildings, said Stephane Phifer, Aurora’s planning director.

A guaranteed maximum price for the Blues Island restoration contract is expected to be brought before the city council July 12, and the highest cost the city could be charged for site work and buildings should make it to the council Aug. 23.

When aldermen approve the two guaranteed maximum prices, they simultaneously will approve the amount going to R.C. Wegman as 9.85 percent of the total.

“We hire people and say, ‘Figure out the cost later,’” said Alderman Rick Lawrence, the only “no” vote in an 11-1 tally in favor of R.C. Wegman as a construction manager. “We hired them without a guaranteed maximum price.”

Research conducted by Phifer shows a construction manager could provide savings by more closely overseeing payroll and material costs of subcontractors and keeping better accounting records.

“They are right there being the city’s advocate and another set of eyes,” Phifer said.

Aurora’s budget includes $12.7 million for the park’s Music Garden coming from three grants and city funding.

Construction is estimated to cost $10.8 million of that total, while the remaining $1.9 million is expected to cover other expenses such as the construction manager’s payment and fees for permits, Phifer said.

With the hiring of a construction manager at a set percentage of construction costs, Aurora will save money if bids come in lower than budgeted.

Alderman Stephanie Kifowit, who voted in favor of the construction management contract, said she expects bids to be lower than the budgeted amount because contractors need work, and bids for other city projects, such as street resurfacing, recently have come in under budget.

The RiverEdge Park Committee, a nonelected group set up to advise the city about plans for the park, recommended R.C. Wegman from three finalists to become the Music Garden’s construction manager, partly because the company plans to finish the project in 16 months as opposed to 20, committee member Charlie Zine said.

He said the city is counting on bids coming in low, which will turn the 9.85 percent owed R.C. Wegman into a lower amount and keep the park’s overall costs down.

“We can spend more on other aspects of the park or save more,” Zine said. “The difference is the savings goes back to the city.”