Extensive repairs needed at Fort Jackson Building
Observer-Reporter
Fort Jackson Hotel office building in Waynesburg
WAYNESBURG – Greene County commissioners agreed Wednesday to place on the agenda for today’s meeting a motion to award an almost $700,000 contract to repair the brick façade on the Fort Jackson Building.
Problems with the façade were noticed last spring when a portion of the rear wall was found to be bowed. Some initial work was conducted to prevent brick from falling and creating a hazard.
An inspection revealed the brick façade was separating in places from the block wall behind it, Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall said following the commissioner’s agenda meeting.
“The brick had not been tied in properly back in 1926,” when the building was constructed, he said. Normally, metal ties would be used to connect a brick façade with an interior wall. In some places, that wasn’t done at the Fort Jackson, he said.
The county received four bids for the work. The lowest bid of $699,000 was submitted by Mariani and Richards Inc. of Pittsburgh. The highest bid was for $878,400.
Marshall said the bid price was “good,” considering the project estimate had put the work at close to $1 million.
The county also reduced the project scope by eliminating work on a portion of the wall that was found to be not in as bad of condition and that was near an electrical pole that cannot be moved to allow work to proceed safely.
Asked about the apparent high cost of the work, Commissioner Blair Zimmerman said the project is something that has to be done to ensure public safety.
“We don’t have an option,” Zimmerman said. “It could get much worse.”
The project will be paid for with Act 13 impact fee money.
The commissioners also agreed to place on the agenda a motion to award a $3,000 contract to Whitlatch Contracting to repair a ceiling in the Fort Jackson Building lobby that earlier was damaged by a water leak.
The commissioners will also consider a motion to enter an agreement with Altered Gas Performance Events LLC to hold Flashlight Drags again this summer at Greene County Airport. Three drag races will be held, tentatively scheduled for June 17, July 22 and Aug. 19.
The commissioners also agreed to enter an agreement with Westmoreland County to house that county’s inmates at Greene County jail. Westmoreland County will pay $50 a day per inmate and cover the inmate’s medical expenses. The county has a similar agreement with Fayette County.