The $3,926 Greene County paid last May for construction documents prior to taking bids for rehabilitating the large stained glass dome over the rotunda at the courthouse saved the county a considerable amount of money, according to county engineer Wade Weiss.
The board of supervisors at its Oct. 3 meeting opened sealed bids for the project, which could begin as soon as next month. Two bids were received, with the apparent low bid $109,640 by Stained Glass Store of Des Moines. The other bid was $123,403 by Bovard Studios of Fairfield.
Stained Glass Store did the restoration of the smaller dome over the courtroom two years ago at a cost of $31,000. At the time, Stained Glass Store owner/artisan Marty Grund gave a “ball park” estimate of $175,000 to restore the larger dome.
It’s the $175K figure the supervisors have used in planning for the project, with a goal of having it done before the courthouse centennial a year from now. The Code of Iowa requires projects costing more than $135,000 be put out for bids.
At the recommendation of Weiss, the supervisors paid Brooks Borg Skiles Architectural and Engineering of Des Moines to prepare detailed construction documents prior to the bidding process. “I think competition for the job and listing out exactly what’s needed really helped out,” Weiss said after the bid opening.
Brooks Borg Skiles will review the documents submitted by Stained Glass Store before the project is awarded.
Weiss will assist in preparing a grant application to Grow Greene County for funding for the project.
As with the smaller dome restoration project, the large dome will be dismantled. The pieces will be cleaned and then reassembled. The project will take several months to complete.
