More change orders for Marquette Park work
By Michael Gonzalez Post-Tribune correspondent September 19, 2012 3:08PM
Updated: September 20, 2012 5:50PM
GARY — The city’s Board of Public Works and Safety Wednesday approved another change order for the construction management companies overseeing the $28 million overhaul of Marquette Park Wednesday.
The board also voted to advertise for painting and roofing work on the transportation center housing the Gary Public Transportation Corp., approved a contract extension for a city attorney and OK’d a contract for a massive financial consulting firm.
Skillman Corp. and Advance Construction, of Merrillville, will get an extra $196,451 for acquiring furniture, dishware, kitchen supplies and more work on the Marquette Park Pavilion in its second nearly $200,000 change order.
After this change order, the companies, which combined to land the contract, will see payments on the project rise from an original contract of $1,427,635 to $1,824,086.
In recent months, change orders have lapped across the board’s table almost as regularly as Lake Michigan’s waves have lapped on Marquette Beach. The overall contingency fund for the $28 million project, funded by the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, was about $1.6 million, said Gary’s Planning Director Dwayne Williams.
Change orders from the various contractors working on the high-profile project have eroded that fund down to just under $235,000. The project, originally planned for completion early this year, still is expected to be completed by December, Williams said.
Assistant City Attorney Richard Leverett, who, like several other attorneys, left careers in the private sector to work in Gary, was awarded a $15,000 contract extension. The contract calls for him to earn no more than $60,000 a year.
Finally, the board approved a $20,000 contract to Crowe Horwath, one of the nation’s largest public accounting and consulting firms, to help Gary’s finance department with cash reporting processes and other functions.
