Efforts to build a new Town Hall in Marion are moving forward after the Board of Aldermen took action Tuesday to proceed with several parts of the project.

 

In a 3-1 vote, the board awarded the demolition of three homes, trees and stump removal on land directly next to the current town hall to Bush Dream Home at a cost of $31,800.

 

Mayor Larry Gill said Bush Dream Home was not the lowest bid, which belonged to Robert Allen at $22,160. The bid, however, did not include tree and stump removal which is a key part of the work needing to be done.

 

“We’ve got to get all the trees off and the stumps,” he said.

 

Gill said it was unclear if Allen knew the tree and stump removal was part of the process, but the service was not included in the scope of work outlined in the documentation he submitted. The town did have two other bids which did include the full scope of work, he said, and aldermen were able to vote to accept one of those.

 

In addition to Bush Dream Home, the town also received a bid from Davidson Hauling and Construction for $33,000

 

Alderman Norman Coleman, who cast the lone vote against awarding the project, said he wanted to give Allen an opportunity to amend his bid to include everything that was required. At almost $10,000 less than the next lowest bid, the contractor could potentially add the extra work and still end up with the lowest bid, he said.

 

As work gets underway to clear the land for the new Town Hall, Marion aldermen are also in the process of hiring an architect to draw up the plans for the town government’s future home. Gill said he had received quotes from both Davis Purdy Architects and architect Jerry Hobgood on the project.

 

Davis Purdy Architects quoted a fee of 6.85% of the estimated $1.3 million price tag for the new building, Gill said, while Hobgood quoted 6% of the estimated construction costs. The difference, he said, is that Davis Purdy’s fee is locked in while Hobgood’s could change if the building ends up costing more than expected. Gill said current costs are in the $1.5 million to $1.6 million range, and the fees for both architects are comparable.

 

As for getting started, Davis Purdy can get the work done in two to three months, Gill said, and Hobgood said it will take him six months. Part of that is due to manpower, he said, and Davis Purdy has more employees to put on the project.

 

Alderman Tammy Young said the town needs to move forward with the town hall project, and she doesn’t want to wait too long for the design.

 

“We can’t wait six months,” she said.

 

The Board of Aldermen is set to have a special called meeting at 4 p.m. Wednesday to vote on an architect to lead the project forward. While there, aldermen are also expected to move forward with repairs to the fire station roof, which has numerous leaks and needs attention. The board previously got quotes on the work but did not have the funding to make the repairs.

 

Gill said the town will need to have the quotes updated to reflect current numbers, but the town should be able to address the problem this time around.

 

“Now we’ve got the money,” he said.