Bid for new roof at East Hawkins Complex four times the cost estimate

The lone bid to re-roof the East Hawkins County Complex in Church Hill came back at more than four times the original cost estimate, prompting commissioners to delay that project in hopes of getting a better bid later.

Hawkins County Facilities Manager Sarah Davis told the commission’s Public Safety Committee at its Aug. 8 meeting that contractors are currently very busy due to all the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding that has been awarded the past couple of years.

The Hawkins County Commission budgeted $213,000 of ARPA funding to cover the cost of a new roof and HVAC unit for the East Hawkins County Complex (EHCC), as well as an ADA-accessible ramp at the county mayor’s office.

The HVAC unit was purchased for $23,000 and installed on the side of the EHCC building, as opposed to its original location on the roof, in anticipation of the new gabled roof being installed.

The overall EHCC roof replacement was estimated at $90,000, but Davis reported that the lone bid came back at $380,000.

Davis told the committee she was advised by the architect to postpone the new roof for now because contractors have so much work at this time, it’s not going to be easy to find someone to do the job at a reasonable price.

“They’re covered up,” Davis told the committee. “This ARPA money has flowed to everybody, and everybody has projects going on. (The architect) advised us to try to make some repairs to the roof, and put it off for a little while to see if we can get some better bids.”

Davis told the committee that the foyer at the entrance is leaking the worst. That small section of roof is separate from main roof that will be replaced, so that smaller project can be completed independently.

She called two roofing companies for an estimate on the foyer roof replacement, but as of last week neither had shown up.

Davis reported that another roofing company had agreed to come look at the main EHCC roof and offer an estimate within the next couple of weeks.

The EHCC houses Church Hill satellite offices for the county clerk, trustee, clerk of courts and sheriff’s office.

After replacing the EHCC HVAC unit, there was $189,850 remaining from those allocated ARPA funds. When Davis advertised for bids for the ADA-accessible ramp at the county mayor’s office, two bids came back at $69,000 and $186,000. The low bidder was awarded the project, but then declined to honor the bid.

“We just don’t have any money to do either of those projects right now,” Davis said.

The Public Buildings Committee is expected to meet again in a couple of weeks, and Davis said she hopes to have an update on the new roof cost estimate. The committee also wants to know the cost estimate for the foyer roof before deciding if that will be paid from the ARPA funds or from the capital projects budget.