After approving the architect/engineer at our June meeting, Product Architecture threw a little bit of a curveball at us. Rather than preparing documents to bid in January for work to be completed in the spring, they proposed getting documents ready to bid in August to complete the work this fall. They said that it has been a bit of a slow season for paving companies, and we stand a good chance of seeing low bids from companies looking for another job to finish out the year. Once I learned that tax bills were going out on time and adjusting my cash flow analysis, it became clear that this is an option for us financially. We opted to have the engineer come out and drill cores in mid-July. Four 5’ samples were taken. Analysis showed that the subsurface layers are in good shape. They consist of the proper materials at the proper thicknesses. A “proof-roll” will still be conducted during construction, once the old asphalt has been removed. But there is no reason to believe that any subsurface work will be required beyond cursory grading, which will be included in the base bid package.
Obviously, things haven’t progressed quickly enough to issue an RFP and receive responses in time for this meeting. I am skeptical that all of the necessary steps will be completed in time to get this job done this fall. However, the architects and engineers are working on it, so perhaps I will have a surprise for you next month.
Recommendation: No action needed at this time.