DOWNTOWN Board hires company for 2 jobs on arena site

The contract is more than $1 million below the engineer's estimate.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The board of control hired a Youngstown company today for the first two contracts at the city's downtown arena site.
Marucci and Gaffney of Youngstown was the overall low bidder on the two jobs at $1,337,114. The first contract is for earthwork needed to clear the arena site and do mass excavation to work out the grade of the sloped property. The second contract is to install water, sanitary and storm sewer lines on the site.
The city gave the three companies bidding on the work the choice of accepting separate awards for the two jobs, but did that only as a secondary option, said David Bozanich, the city's finance director and a member of the board of control.
Marucci, along with the Soda Construction Co. of Niles, declined the option to accept separate awards for the two contracts. A.P. O'Horo of Liberty was the only company that agreed to separate the jobs.
Marucci's bid on the lines was the lowest proposal. O'Horo's bid on the first contract of $971,576 was $120,576 less than Marucci's proposal.
But Bozanich said the city went with Marucci because the company was willing to do more than one project.
The city could have gone with O'Horo for the line installation, but would have been forced to rebid the other contract causing delays with the $41 million, 5,500-seat arena project, Bozanich said.
"We had no choice," he said. "We went with the combined lowest bid because [Marucci] wouldn't do just one of the projects."
One for both
Also, the Hunt Construction Group of Dallas, the project's construction manager, recommended the city hire one company for both jobs, Bozanich said.
"They said that if there is a problem, we would know who was responsible," he said. "It's easier to hold one group accountable than two if there's a problem."
The work effort for these two projects is easier to coordinate with one company, he said.
"It's almost like having somebody doing the digging of your basement and someone else putting in the foundation," Bozanich said. "We would have difficulty separating who has responsibility."
Even though his company lost out on a $851,000 contract, Dan O'Horo, O'Horo's chairman, wasn't terribly upset.
"It's their option," O'Horo said of city officials. "I don't have any dispute if they say they're going with the combined bid. That's the way the pieces fall. We're looking at the foundation bids [for the arena project.] We'll be back."
Engineers estimated the contracts to build the downtown arena, to be located on Front Street near the South Avenue Bridge, together would cost $2.35 million. The Marucci proposal is more than $1 million less than the estimate.
Hunt and city officials said last week that the outcome shows good competition among bidders. Work should begin in about two weeks.
skolnick@vindy.com