Franklin City Hall will get nearly $300,000 in exterior repairs this year, including brick and roof repairs, and waterproofing and painting.
A bid was awarded this week for more than $294,900 in façade repairs to Franklin City Hall.
The city awarded the project to Bulley and Andrews Masonry Restoration, LLC, of Chicago, at the recommendation of Cripe Solutions by Design, an Indianapolis consulting firm working with the city on the project.
The engineer’s estimate for the project was $360,000, but the Bulley and Andrews’ bid appears to be responsive and responsible, said Mark Richards, city engineer.
The project includes brick replacement, tuck pointing, roof repairs, painting and waterproofing. This is all work that was recommended by engineers after an inspection of the building, Richards said.
The city council allocated $250,000 for the project earlier this year and the remaining funds will come from an area of the city budget that is designated for city hall maintenance, said Steve Barnett, Franklin’s mayor.
Members of the Franklin Board of Public Works and Safety asked Richards a few questions about the project before approving the bid on Monday.
They had questions because there was concern that interior work might also be needed. That’s because an area of the building façade near the foundation has deteriorated and has allowed water to seep into the baseboards in the city council chambers. By repairing the façade now, engineers expect there will not be a need any immediate need for interior construction, Richards said.
There are not any current structural problems with the brick wall on the interior. By repairing the exterior now, it will be more likely to stay that way, Richards said.
So, no work will be done inside the building and city operations shouldn’t be impacted much by the construction.
The work is expected to start on or about May 1 of this year and will take about 120 days to complete. This timeline will be subject to the contractor’s schedule, Richards said.
