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Contract for Chester garage work postponed

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By Grace Lovins


The 2024 Chester Street parking garage repair project for one of Birmingham’s five parking garages was put on hold during the Monday, June 3, meeting over the city commission’s concerns about lack of attention to design issues in the undertaking


This year’s repair project for the Chester Street parking structure comes after structural assessment reports were completed on all five of the city’s structures by engineering firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. Included in the assessments were five-year plans developed to address the repairs all five garages needed.


In 2023, the firm submitted design repairs and construction documents for all five structures as part of a long-term repair plan with construction expected to start in 2023. Work began in June of 2023 on the North Old Woodward garage and the Chester Street garage was next on the list.


Parking systems manager Aaron Ford said of the contract that the city issued a request for proposals (RFP) and received two bids for the contract work. Of the two companies, RAM Construction was selected for the work, which was anticipated to start immediately following approval from the commission.


The city’s RFP covered structural, waterproofing and façade repairs in the parking structure, as well as repairing or improving the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Among many other objectives, the city was also asking the bidders to paint portions of the garage to improve aesthetics. RAM Construction’s bid was $5,294,650.


After Ford presented the item to the commission, multiple commissioners focused on their disapproval over the aesthetics of the proposed light fixtures. Commissioner Clinton Baller stated that he thinks the city could contract help from professional interior designers to make the garages more appealing to the public, using the metaphor that the city can either have “(Ron) Rea restaurant or a Jersey Mike’s.”


Assistant city manager Melissa Fairburn, using Baller’s metaphor, explained to the commission that the focus of the project was not necessarily on the aesthetics of the garage, but bringing it up to standard. “We don’t have a Jersey Mike’s right now. We have a dungeon,” she said.


“If you want to postpone the work on the nuts and bolts and the actual structure of the garage in hopes that we can get something more beautiful out of a 38-year-old garage that doesn’t have LED lights, and the cameras aren’t installed, (it) hasn’t been painted in years, then we can do that,” Fairburn said.


Commissioner Therese Longe echoed Baller’s argument saying that while the lighting is going to make it safer, it could also be more aesthetically pleasing within the same expenditure. Longe and commissioner Anthony Long both agreed that they took issue with presentation not including details or pictures of the lighting that was being proposed in the contract.


As discussions continued, the commission, notably Baller in particular, grew frustrated that there is misunderstanding between what the commission is looking for and what was included in the contract. Baller ended up leaving the room to cool off but returned to vote on the item.


“I think the commission is looking for a more comprehensive assessment of what is coming in front of us,” said mayor pro tem Katie Schafer. “I think the suggestion here is that this is a $5 million contract to elevate the parking deck and make it more structurally sound and it feels…not comprehensive.”


The commission voted 7-0 table the contract award until the next regular meeting so there can be further clarification and direction of where the city is going with the contract once city staff has had the chance to meet with RAM Construction and the other bidder.

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