Library discussions centered on reducing costs

WORLAND – The Washakie County Commissioners met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to discuss the value engineering list set forth regarding the new Washakie County Library by the tentatively awarded bidder Groathouse Construction and the county’s engineering firm TSP.

Those present for the discussion were the Washakie County Commission, Project Manager Mark Averett from TSP, Groathouse Construction President Fred Bronnenberg along with representatives from the Washakie County Library and Washakie County.

Averett and Bronnenberg had performed a walk-through of the facility prior to meeting with commissioners to discuss the value engineering.

The discussions centered primarily on ways to save a significant chunk of money to lower Groathouse Construction’s base bid of $2,674,000 to match the funding that the county has saved and received for the project.

Some of saving options included but were not limited to re-navigating the proposed humidification system to ensure books would not be ruined should the library bring in special collections, changing the elevator to a lift while still providing handicap access to the upper floor, different style of fire suppression, changing the style of heating used in the building and using different materials in different areas to reduce overall cost for the project.

The commissioners held an hour-long discussion as they attempt to reduce the cost in order to begin the project as soon as possible. Groathouse is expected to discuss the specifications with TSP by Friday, Sept. 4, gather new estimates for these new value-engineered specifications, and then discuss the savings at the Sept. 15 commissioners meeting.

Once the project is within the budget, TSP will draft a contract agreement for signature.

TEN SLEEP VISITATION

Washakie County Library Systems Director Karen Funk and Terry Livingston came before the County Commission and discussed the situation that is developing regarding climbers and travelers using the wireless internet access at the Ten Sleep Library.

Funk expressed gratitude and appreciation toward the visitors as they have donated toward the library, helped clean the windows and have not been a problem for her in her experiences with said visitors.

The library is owned by the county, and Washakie County School District No. 2 pays an annual fee along with signing an annual contract with the county to allow the school to use the facility and care for certain aspects of the facility.

Funk expressed concern with the commissioners that the district was watering and mowing the facility at a higher rate than years past with the increased traffic. The commissioners want to discuss with WCSD No. 2 the parameters of the contract so that it is clear what each party is responsible for on the property and how they will notify each other when a task will be performed so that Funk may be able to facilitate visitation with no issues.

The commissioners are set to contact District 2 Superintendent Jimmy Phelps and discuss the contract with him at their Sept. 15 meeting.

The issue was set to be on the Ten Sleep Town Council’s agenda on Tuesday, Sept. 1. Read more about the discussion at that meeting and the commissioner’s meeting in next week’s edition of the Northern Wyoming News.