Work at Big Blue, the Clark Street Parking Garage in downtown Warren, continues.
And it will cost the City of Warren an additional $48,915.
Director of Public Works Director Mike Holtz brought the news to City Council at Monday night's meeting. "Additional areas were identified when the painting began," he said.
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‘Rust’oration project
The Clark Street Parking Garage will require an additional $48,915 in painting work in order to combat additional areas that were identified by the contractors during painting.
The original contract with Nathan Construction included painting 6,100 square feet. Through that process, it was determined that painting an additional 5,435 square feet would be in the garage's best interest.
"I was sorta surprised to read that," Councilman Jim Zavinski said.
"It would make sense to try to do more and get a longer life out of it. It's like a $900,000 project" Holtz explained. "(It is a) necessary proactive measure in preventing more damage and rust."
The total cost of the additional painting, at $9 per square foot, is $48,915.
"From a percentage standpoint, it is still within budget," Holtz said of the entire project.
The cost of the entire project included the purchase of a new street sweeping device that has been deployed in the garage.
Total cost of the project was expected to be $879,575, which includes a seven-year insurance policy on the seven-year-old garage.
Holtz said on Wednesday that the project has been funded by a $1.1 million loan taken out by the city.
The project can still be considered under budget, Holtz explained, because even with the additional expenses, the total project costs comes in under the $1.1 million threshold. "Overall, it's (the added expense) a small percentage of the total contract," he said.