Old Courthouse Square already buzzing with workers

Even though construction work to reunify Old Courthouse Square won't begin until June 1, plenty of activity will be going on in the square in coming weeks and months, including removal of trees as early as January.

Local engineering firm Carlile-Macy won the $756,000 design contract, but a number of subcontractors already are regularly working in the square. In addition to the 10 Carlile-Macy staff members listed as working on the project, the company has enlisted six firms to help it complete the work.

These include Vargas Greenan Architecture for civic design, W-Trans for traffic engineering, and Guttman & Blaevoet for lighting and electrical engineering. Also on board are West Yost Associates for soil and groundwater management, Bauer Associates for geotechnical services and Wildlife Research Associates to survey the area for nesting birds and bats.

Many of those subcontractors have been doing preparatory work and studies in the square and will continue to do so in the coming weeks and in support of the project, according to Jason Nutt, director of the city's Transportation and Public Works Department.

The environmental report for a previous iteration of the project noted that contaminated soils were likely to be discovered during the construction.

To make sure a plan is in place to test, handle and dispose of those soils when construction begins, drill rigs likely will be setting up in the square to take samples in the coming weeks, Nutt said.

The presence of nesting birds and bats creates another potential challenge, he said.

The team has hired biologist Greg Tartarian to assess whether birds or bats are nesting or are likely to nest in some of the 127 trees in the square.

To ensure that construction activities don't interfere with nesting birds and bats, the city may have to begin removing trees before the Feb. 1 beginning of the nesting season, Nutt said.

Because the design is not complete, it's not clear which trees or how many would need to be removed, Nutt said.

But with the City Council not set to make a final design decision until Jan. 26, that may leave the city just five days to remove the trees before the nesting season begins, he said.

The $755,741 cost of the design contract exceeded what some had expected.

The council had recently granted City Manager Sean McGlynn authority to pick the design firm and to spend $500,000 from the city's general fund to get the design process moving.

But that didn't mean there was a $500,000 cap on the design contract, Nutt said.

The city already has two other pots of money set aside for the project, namely about $1.1 million in ratepayer funds for the replacement of the water and sewer lines in the area, and about $800,000 in gas tax funds for the road and signal improvements to reroute traffic around the reunified square.

Those portions of the project need design work, and so it is appropriate for some of those non-general fund dollars to pay for the overall design contract, Nutt said.

In addition, a group of downtown businesses had previously pledged to contribute $125,000 toward the design of the project. Those funds have not yet been received, but when they are they will put in the pot, lowering the portion of the design contract being paid from the general fund, Nutt said.

The group, the Coalition to Restore Courthouse Square, plans to present the check to the city soon.

(Editor's note: This story has been updated to inlcude information that the Coalition to Restore Courthouse Square plans to present itd $125,000 pledge to the city soon.)

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.