Council diverts $400,000 internal loan to FRPD project; considers clerk of works costs

On May 8 the Front Royal Town Council approved altering a $400,000 internal loan to facilitate a timed-out payment on Criser Road Trail improvements.  Those improvements on the town’s southside are an important link in completing the walking trail through town that council has long sought.

Council’s unanimous roll call vote of approval will divert that money in the coming fiscal year to the construction of the new town police headquarters.  The issue of how the Town will begin setting money aside for what is now estimated to be a $9-million project has been discussed at work sessions for several months.

From left, Bébhinn Egger, Vice Mayor Tewalt, Mayor Tharpe and John Connolly try to get on the same page on something at May 8 meeting – and they did on transfer of funds to FRPD construction project. Photos/Roger Bianchini

At a May 1 work session Town Finance Director B.J. Wilson told council that not paying the internal loan back $100,000 per year over a four-year period as had been planned will not jeopardize the Town’s mandated three-month General Fund reserve.

“I think we’ll be just fine,” Wilson told council in response to a direct question at that work session.  Wilson elaborated that the Town’s emergency reserve fund would remain $1.4-million above its required three-month reserve amount  (details on that reserve fund will be inserted when received).

In response to a May 1 question from Councilwoman Bébhinn Egger, John Connolly said the new plan will pay for the Criser Road Trail improvements outright (cash up front).  Connolly made the May 8 motion to alter the internal repayment plan, Eugene Tewalt seconded it.  Tewalt has long argued with Council’s younger membership, led by Connolly, on beginning the FRPD headquarters funding process before a $9-million project bill comes due.

Clerk of Works?

Following the rather brief 20-minute meeting of May 8, Council’s two-member committee on the new police headquarters project adjourned to discuss hiring a clerk of the works for the project.  Mayor Hollis Tharpe and Jacob Meza are that committee’s council membership.  Also present were Acting Town Manager Joe Waltz and FRPD Captain Kevin Nicewarner.

From left, committee members Mayor Tharpe, Councilman Meza, FRPD Captain Nicewarner and Acting Town Manager Waltz ponder options on four RFP bids to provide a clerk of the works to oversee construction of a new town police headquarters. The position would represent the town’s interest in keeping construction costs down.

Several council members, including Chris Morrison and William Sealock who attempted to sit in, were given the boot by the mayor because the committee meeting was not previously advertised, preventing a full council quorum from being present.

When the committee meeting convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Warren County Government Center caucus room, Meza expressed his concern over the proposed costs received from four respondents to the RFP (Requests For Proposals) issued.  Those costs were estimated between $189,000 and $340,000, with three coming in closer to the bottom number.

Meza explained that he didn’t want to hold up the project, but that he was not sure a cost of around $200,000 to hire a clerk of the works.  A clerk of the works oversees a construction project in the interest of the entity that hires the position.

“Two-hundred thousand dollars sounds like a lot but with change orders coming in … he will be there every day to look at every nail, every screw to try and save us money,” Mayor Tharpe responded to Meza.

“I wish we knew what we would be saved – $100,000 yes; $10,000 no,” Meza said after options on how to proceed were broached.  He also wondered how the Town could be guaranteed that an outside contractor hired as the Town’s on-site agent would be incentivized to actually act in the Town’s best interest.

According to Town Manager Waltz due to the federal Procurement Act, the primary option in seeking a better price is voiding the existing RFP and issuing a new one.  That could lead to a delay of a month with council ending up back at square one with no new applicants or lower proposals, Waltz noted.

FRPD Captain Nicewarner asked if the Town could negotiate with the existing RFP responders on a better price.

“We can bring vendors in and see what they can bring to the table,” Waltz replied of trying to get a better deal without going through a new RFP process, adding, “It would be in their best interest to work with us.”

Responding to a question from the mayor, Captain Nicewarner replied that contractor Moseley was still waiting on a response from the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on the project plan.  Town Manager Waltz observed that the DEQ process had been delayed when the state permitting entity found a mistake, cited as incorrect acreage on the involved property, in the original application Moseley submitted to DEQ. (Wonder if a clerk of the works could have helped correct THAT mistake before it was submitted, setting the state permitting process back to square one?)

“It’s a high price, but we might have to bite the bullet,” Mayor Tharpe said of paying the price on the preferred bid in the original RFP.