Reconstruction of city service garage moves forward

by Melissa Martin

Oct. 1 city council meeting

Brecksville City Council accepted the proposal of I.A. Lewin, P.E. and Associates for structural engineering services for the Brecksville Service Garage fire reconstruction project.

The firm will bill the city $170 per hour, the total not to exceed $8,500.

In conjunction with the reconstruction project, council accepted the proposal of ECS Midwest LLC for subsurface exploration and geotechnical engineering services for alterations of the service garage at a cost not to exceed $4,800 for base services.

According to Service Director Joe Kickel, the restoration project will include several structural alterations to the building, which was damaged by fire last February. The building’s interior columns will be eliminated, and the existing south wall footing and north pier footings will be reinforced by new extensions that will absorb additional structural loads.

The building’s floor plan is not expected to change, and large portions of the existing floor slab are to remain, Kickel said.

“With the additional wall height and the additional load on the exterior walls, because we will be eliminating the center post beam on the building, [we have to make sure] the soil has enough load-bearing pressure to support the additional [weight],” he said. “And so we just had to do some geotech underground surface exploration and engineering [to accommodate] for that.”

Kickel said the cost will be forwarded to the city’s insurance provider for reimbursement. He also noted that the fees for the architect, approved by council earlier this year, also will be submitted for insurance coverage.

Building department software

At the request of chief building official Scott Packard, council entered into a contract with Citizenserve to upgrade software used by the building department.

The software will cost $45,400 the first year and $18,900 in subsequent years. It will replace the Sungard/Pentamation software purchased in 2009 that went live in 2010, Packard said.

“Its estimated usefulness at that time was 10 years,” he said, noting that the new cloud-based CitizenseNe software is developed specifically for city building departments and includes components of permitting and inspection, planning and zoning, code enforcement and contractor licensing. It also features an online portal for application submittals and payments.

“Inspectors will be able to view their schedules, any permit data or plans and result inspections in the field via tablets,” Packard said. “Contractors and homeowners also [will be able to] register online and track their application process and inspection results in real time.”

Kids Quarters

City council approved the proposal of Knight & Stolar Inc. to perform landscape architectural services for Phase II of the Kids Quarters revitalization project, at a cost of $76,000.

Parks and Recreation Director Rachele Engle said council approved the first phase of the project in February, which included the construction of an ADA ramp and sidewalks that were completed in August.

“This legislation will allow the same [company] to complete Phase II of the project, which focuses on playground design, playground structures, paths and also the site furnishings” Engle told council. “[They] will also prepare construction drawings, specifications and estimates for the bidding process and the contract administration.”

Engle said her department has set aside funding for the project. ∞