City of Pella staff publicly opened and read out six completed and sealed bids this morning for the proposed indoor recreation facility, and the initial numbers have come in below engineers’ estimates from five of the six general contractors who submitted to work on the expansive project.

Prior to the bid seeking process — which was paid for by a private donor, a revised engineer’s estimate came in at $28 million for a base project that included two gyms, a competition swimming pool, and indoor turf space, without contingency. The full building plan with additions was estimated to be closer to $36 million. It would be located north of the current Pella Sports Park. A University Street and Baseline Drive extension is being considered separately.

The bids for the base plan were as follows (full price with alternates, including gyms, recreation pool, and additional parking in brackets):
Bi-State Contracting of West Burlington – $24,474,449 ($31,943,289)
Stahl of Grimes – $24.9 million ($31,654,000)
Hansen Company of Johnston – $25.5 million ($33,851,000)
Core Construction Services of Des Moines – $25,942,000 ($33,111,000)
Larson Construction of Independence – $26,250,000 ($34,150,000)
ARCO/Murray National Holdings of Downers Grove, IL – $31,416,344 ($39,765,578)

FULL BIDS BELOW ARE CONSIDERED UNOFFICIAL:

If the Pella City Council approves a contract, the project would be financed with $17.5 million in donations, including a state contribution of $500,000, as well as $17 million from the City of Pella’s Local Option Sales and Service tax, to be paid out in a 20 year bond on that sales tax. That $34.5 million total of finances available exceeds all but one bid, but that does not include any project contingency, which historically for the City of Pella has been between 5-10% for new construction. Fundraising is still ongoing, according to Mayor Don DeWaard. Find more details here.

Additionally, the Pella School Board may decide on financial support for the project in the coming weeks from leftover funds from the bond issue and in sales tax revenue. At the end of Monday’s meeting, Superintendent Greg Ebeling signaled a $1 million proposal could be paid over five years to receive a 20-year agreement for rental of the facility to support new JV and varsity swim teams, likely to be held in cooperation with Pella Christian. The money would be used for operational revenue on the back-end following construction. That awaits board approval at an upcoming meeting.

The Pella City Council is holding a public hearing following a review of those bids for the indoor recreation facility on April 15th. If approved, construction would begin this summer and continue for 18 to 24 months, depending on multiple factors, including the final scope of the project and weather-related impacts.