Amid concerns on timing, Avon council to question potential contractor on town hall demolition
Before they award a $571,235 contract to demolish the former town hall building, the Avon Town Council has a few questions for contractor Michael Lindstrom of Tasman Geosciences.
Lindstrom said he’d be happy to answer the council’s questions, Town Engineer Justin Hildreth wrote in a memo published on Friday.
At the Avon Town Council’s Jan. 26 meeting, elected officials expressed concerns with weather, COVID-19, health department approvals, and the June 1 deadline they’ve imposed for the project.
“Let’s hear from the contractor directly,” said councilmember Scott Prince. “That’s something we’ve never really done, we’ve never really had these contractors come in and speak directly to us so they can answer our questions.”
In Avon, projects over the last decade have missed deadlines and budgets or have not happened altogether. In 2020, Avon learned that the partially complete condominium project on Highway 6 wasn’t happening; in 2019, the Beaver Creek Boulvard streetscape improvements plan wrapped up after becoming a year behind schedule, and in 2014, at the site adjacent to the town hall demolition project, the cost of the town stage went $2M over budget.
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“We haven’t been very lucky with contractors, at all,” said Councilmember Chico Thuon.
Town manager Eric Heil said most projects stay within budget.
“It’s really the time frames where we’ve been more challenged,” Heil said.
The former town hall demolition discussion and possible award of contract is the first item on Tuesday’s Avon Town Council agenda, scheduled for 5:05 p.m.
