Journal & Topics Media Group

Council OKs Early Start, Vendor For City Hall Sprinklers


Park Ridge City Hall, 505 Butler Place, as seen from Hodges Park. (Charles Miller/Journal photo)

The current renovation project in the police headquarters, located off Vine Street in the lower level of Park Ridge City Hall, has prompted City Manager Joe Gilmore to move up the timelines for installing sprinkler systems throughout the building.

Gilmore told the City Council that when the walls and ceilings in the police area were opened up with other remodeling, it made more sense to install the “fire suppression system” now than to open everything up again.

City Hall and the Park Ridge Library building were both built years ago, without sprinkler systems. As the city updated to newer national fire codes, both of the local buildings, facing repairs and upgrades, have grappled with funding and scheduling upgrades with sprinklers.

When the master plan for City Hall and police station renovations was developed in 2017 with architects from FGM, the projects were split across several fiscal years.

Aldermen agreed on Monday, March 18 to move the installation of fire sprinkler systems up to FY19 spending, and to postpone some other work, including fire rating the stairwells, to a later stage of the renovations.

Timing of the sprinkler work, which is now proposed as part of the capital improvement budget for FY20, was important, since the aldermen completed their budget plan at the final budget workshop Wednesday, March 20.

The new FY20 budget year will start May 1.

The plan is to do the sprinkler work in three phases, starting with the police area in the basement while those already-open walls and ceilings are still accessible, then the attic, then the first and second floors which include the City Council chambers and offices.

Gilmore reported that a request for proposals, sent out in late 2018, brought in four bids to install a fire suppression system throughout the building. One was rejected for lack of details.

City staff reviewed and graded the other three proposals in a variety of criteria and invited the two top-scoring firms — Great Lakes Plumbing & Heating, and U.S. Alliance — to make presentations.

Great Lakes, which was the recommended bidder at $746,350 to cover the three phases, offered an added incentive, by proposing to do all of its work during the night shifts, when it was least disruptive to city operations.

A representative from U.S. Alliance, attending the March 18 City Council meeting, asked why his company’s bid, priced lower at $703,341, had not won, or why the city had not specified that work should be done on the night shift.

Aldermen approved the Great Lakes contract, 7-0.

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