City council scraps community center plan

By: 
Jason Ferguson
Eight years after it took possession of the former Custer Elementary School, the city of Custer’s plan to renovate the school to become the home of city offices and Custer YMCA is dead. At least, dead in its current form.
The death knell was struck at the Feb. 18 meeting of the Custer City Council, when it unanimously rejected a revised Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for the renovation project presented by Ainsworth Benning, construction manager at risk for the now-defunct project.
The GMP presented at the meeting was $4.8 million — sans what are called “value engineering options” and alternates — and $4.9 million when necessary asbestos removal from pipe insulation and data cabling are factored in. With a city budget of $4.5 million set for the project, it remained over $400,000 over budget.
“Personally, I can’t see us proceeding with this [updated GMP plan],” said Mayor Corbin Herman.
On Dec. 19 of last year the city rejected the initial GMP of $5.36 million for the project, and over the next couple of months met with the design team and Ainsworth Benning to see if costs could be cut with the final product still being what the city desired. However, the new price — combined with the features lost in the cost-shaving measures — proved to make the project unpalatable.
Don Werner, a project manager for Ainsworth Benning, told the council that attempting to cut more costs would affect the building’s functionality.
“The [cost-cutting] options to give you the building you need have been exhausted,” he said.
The modified plan minus the value engineering options already stripped away some of the original plans for the building. Among the costs cut was an elevator to the second floor — and subsequently, use of that floor — by the city. The city could not use the floor since it would not be Americans With Disabilities Act compliant.
Alderwoman Peg Ryan said the new proposal is not only over budget, but no longer meets the city’s needs.
Werner said a large part of the problem with the budget is the HVAC system needed to heat and cool the 30,000-square-foot building. Third floor renovations could be scrapped entirely (it was to be home to the YMCA), but it will still have to be heated above freezing and have a fire system installed.
The renovations would encompass around 28,000 square feet of the building at a cost of $180 per square foot. It was estimated new construction on a 20,500- square-foot building would cost around $220 per square foot.
The council discussed the possibility of “selective demolition,” trying to save part of the building while demolishing other parts. The city has already poured thousands of dollars into renovating parts of the building and a great deal of time has been spent inside by volunteers doing demolition and other work.
The council did not indicate what the next move was after the vote. 
“If we’re not going to use it, it’s got to go,” Herman said.
The council also heard from Van Arp, who received permission to use the showmobile and shut down 5th Street from the alleyway of Mt. Rushmore Road north to Mt. Rushmore Road for a “Custer Summer Kickoff” music event June 18-20. The event would be sponsored by Custer Area Arts Council.
Arp said he discussed the proposal with the Custer County Sheriff’s Office and the two businesses most affected by the closure: Custer Wolf and Adventure Rentals. All three gave their blessing for the event.
Arp said the idea is to “create some excitement” in Custer in the early part of the summer and that he would take the lead in booking acts for the three-day event. He said he would attend a Restaurant Week recap meeting to see if restaurants want to get involved and that fundraising ideas are being kicked around in hopes of bringing a featured act to the Saturday evening of the event.
Arp said the street closure will not block access to the courthouse parking lot and that alcohol will not be served. The city council approved Arp’s request pending proof of insurance, although a way to bring power to the showmobile in that location will need to be worked out. The city will not provide the power.
In other news from the Feb. 18 meeting, the council:
• Approved Bituminous Paving’s low bid of $110,278 to do the city’s chip seal project this summer. Two bids were received for the project.
• Approved Simon Contractor’s low bid of $361,235 for a drainage improvement project. The bid was nearly $100,000 more than engineer estimates for the project.
City public works director Bob Morrison said the uniqueness of the project — and its relatively small size — added to the inflated cost and said Simon will not budge on the bid. The second bidder, Western Construction, bid over $380,000 and also had an incorrect bid form for part of the project.
Areas to see work include Bryden Drive the entire distance of the alleyway between 2nd and 3rd streets, the alleyway behind Custer State Farm and a small area at the intersection of Gordon and 10th streets.
Morrison said it has been nearly three years since the city has done any large street improvement projects, partly because it wanted to wait until Golden West finished its fiberoptic installation project.

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