Getting Creative to Complete a Summer Construction Project

Challenge

Just outside of Rochester, New York is the Town of Irondequoit. Bordered by Lake Ontario, the Genesee River and Irondequoit Bay, the town’s 52,000 residents live in a virtual slice of Americana, home to the Seabreeze Amusement Park and a number of historic sites.

For residents and visitors looking for a place to slow down and reconnect, Irondequoit offers Camp Eastman, wooded grounds with large cabins and lodges available for rent. These buildings offer spacious rooms, outdoor grills and an escape from the busy routines of everyday life. One might have called the Camp Eastman cabins the perfect setting for R&R, were it not for the condition of the decks.

The town heard plenty of complaints from renters about the state of the decks. There were reports of chipped paint, nails sticking out far enough to catch an ankle or a bare toe and warped wood planks that bowed underfoot. The state of decks was not up to the standards of the cabins or Camp Eastman on the whole. Irondequoit officials, seeking to restore the cabins to their former glory, sought a solution to its decks problem.

Solution

Irondequoit decision-makers needed the work on the cabins completed quickly, between a pair of beloved community events. Working with the Pike Company, a local contractor, and Gordian, the Town of Irondequoit accessed ezIQC®, a form of Job Order Contracting (JOC) available through cooperative purchasing networks. ezIQC is an alternative procurement process that helps public agencies and schools complete repairs, renovations and simple construction projects with a single, competitively-awarded contract. Unlike traditional bidding where each project is identified, designed and put out to bid, ezIQC establishes prices up front, eliminating the need to bid projects separately.

“We were able to reconstruct several structures without the burden of bid packages at a very affordable cost.”

Robert Kiley, Commissioner of Public Works, Town of Irondequoit

Irondequoit was using the Town of Greece’s (NY) contract. Buying construction services through the Town of Greece’s contract allowed Irondequoit to take advantage of volume discounts and stretch the taxpayer dollar. Additionally, ezIQC puts qualified contractors in place faster than traditional procurement, so it was the perfect choice for the town’s tight timeline.

In addition to private and corporate get-togethers, Camp Eastman hosts a trio of summer camps segmented by the age. Young kids descend on camp to play games, craft and tell stories, while the older groups hike, swim and learn camping skills like cooking over a fire. The camps wrap up in early August, just weeks ahead of Irondequoit’s annual Oktoberfest celebration. For two September weekends, people gather under a one-acre tent at Camp Eastman for German food, music and the famous beer stein hoisting contest.

Planning the festivities around an active construction zone simply would not do. Irondequoit’s Oktoberfest celebrations date back 30 years; the town wasn’t about to have a year spoiled. This took careful coordination between the town and the contractor. From the joint scope meeting in early June, to construction start in late July, all the way to the finish in early October, the contractor and the town worked together to ensure the project ran smoothly. Irondequoit still had cabins to rent during the busy season and neither summer camps nor Oktoberfest were interrupted by work. It was an exemplary partnership.

The cabin renovations project consisted of removing and replacing four existing exterior decks, one of which was attached to the park’s restrooms. The Pike Company also refinished the hardwood flooring in one of the cabins, installed new vinyl flooring in another and completed miscellaneous interior and exterior repairs. In all, the project cost the Town of Irondequoit a shade under $59,000. Money well spent to give visitors the best possible Camp Eastman experience.

Result

The Town of Irondequoit replaced its decks and rehabbed its cabins within a tight scheduling window using ezIQC. Robert Kiley, the Commissioner of Public Works for the Town of Irondequoit, explains, “The Town utilized the pre-bid work to allow construction within the appropriate timelines without the need for a several months’ delay for bid packages. We were able to reconstruct several structures without the burden of bid packages at a very affordable cost.”

If the town had been constrained by the traditional procurement process, work would have been delayed by weeks, complaints may have piled up and the Oktoberfest celebration may have been jeopardized. Accessing ezIQC allowed work to start fast and for progress to continue unabated by change order negotiations. Most importantly, residents and visitors alike in Irondequoit, New York have a better place to slow down and reconnect.