Bids for appeals court exceed estimate

The CIC staff has 15 days to review the bids and make a recommendation.
YOUNGSTOWN -- All the bids for the proposed 7th District Court of Appeals downtown building came in over the $3 million estimate.
Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. officials opened the four bids Friday afternoon. They all contained a base bid for construction and demolition and alternates for things such as a basement, a canopy along the building, a dome or cupola, a marble floor and a granite floor.
The CIC, which serves as the downtown's redevelopment agency, plans to build a two-story, 13,500-square-foot facility in the block of West Federal Street between the vacant Kress Building and First Educators Investment Corp.
Bids
The base bids submitted were:
UWeber, Murphy & amp; Fox, Erie, Pa.: $3,593,500.
UMurphy Contracting Co. with Olsavsky-Jaminet Architects, Youngstown: $3,297,762.
UJance Construction, Mentor: $3,371,000. Jance also is the contractor on the Mahoning County Children Services Board building being erected next to the George V. Voinovich Center.
URicciuti Balog & amp; Partners Architects, Youngstown: $3,046,089.
Brenda Williams, CIC consultant, said the CIC's staff and property committee have 15 days to review the bids and make a recommendation to the CIC's board of directors. She said some of the things that will be considered are the experience of the architect and contractors and costs, which could include any or all the alternates.
Jason Whitehead, CIC executive director, said bids also could be thrown out because they exceeded the estimate, or the CIC could look at whether it could help out with any additional financing.
Reaction
Judge Gene Donofrio of the appellate court didn't seem bothered the bids came in over the estimate. He said he was grateful for all the help the court has received from the CIC, city and Mahoning County officials.
"This is the realization of a seven- or eight-year dream to find proper and efficient work space for the court," Judge Donofrio said. The court is located on the fourth floor of the Mahoning County Courthouse. Judge Donofrio said the appellate court's move out of the courthouse would free up much-needed space for use by the common pleas courts or other county departments.
Whitehead said he expects the review process to move quickly if the bids aren't thrown out. The new appellate court building is scheduled to open in January 2006, and construction would take about six months.
The CIC will use money from an investment program through the Mahoning County Treasurer's office to finance construction. The CIC will lease the building to the county, which is responsible for providing office space and a courtroom.
The county will pay off the lease using revenue it receives from the other seven counties that belong to the appellate district.
Each county contributes toward the cost of the court's operation. Mahoning, as the largest county, pays about 45 percent of the cost.