City discusses steps for Start Westward Monument project
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Marietta City Council discussed the steps involved in its project for the Memorial to the Start Westward of the United States, also called the Start Westward Monument, and again discussed hiring a project manager for the project Thursday evening.
City Development Director Geoff Schenkel presented council with a document detailing the recommended order of operations for the city's Start Westward Monument project during a joint Public Land and Buildings and Property, Zoning, Annexation and Housing (PZAH) Committees meeting.
The document was created by Schenkel and Brett Smith, a retired architect who asked the city at the last joint meeting of the committees earlier this month to consider hiring him as the project manager, what he called an owner agent, for the project.
Smith previously described the Start Westward Monument project as recasting the sandstone sculpture in bronze and putting a pedestal under it; moving the sandstone sculpture to a different location for protection; making the area around the sculpture ADA compliant; adding an esplanade; redoing the pylons around the statue; landscaping; and possibly adding lighting.
The recommended order of operations includes three phases and Schenkel shared them with council members at the meeting.
According to the document, the first phase of the project is a pre-casting phase that will be paid for by $150,000 in American Rescue Plan Act money the city set aside for the project. The phase includes a conservator scanning the sandstone sculpture that makes up the monument. The scan cost is listed as $66,213. The fee for Smith to handle this phase as the project manager is listed as $25,000.
PZAH Committee Chair and Ward 2 Councilman Bret Allphin asked if the cost listed for scanning the statue is still accurate seeing as it was from about two years ago.
"We got updated proposals in the winter of 2023," Schenkel said about the cost of scanning the statue. "It wasn't a big jump up from 2020 to 2023."
Allphin pointed out that council shouldn't get used to that number because the cost may go up.
Schenkel gave an update about the process for picking a conservator to scan the sandstone statue and cast the bronze statue. He said last year council had passed legislation stating the city could go directly into a contract with McKay Lodge to do the work but he has found out the state prefers the city go through an approved selection process. Smith added that if he is chosen as the project manager part of the work he would do is handle the request for proposal process.
The document said the second phase of the project is working on the esplanade and it would be paid for by a capital request to the state government that is currently pending and that request is for $750,000. The document said scope of what can be done for the esplanade will depend on bids received and accepted alternate plans at the time.
According to the document, the third phase of the project will be the casting and installation of the bronze statue, the sandstone statute being moved to be stored offsite and it will be paid for by a state capital budget request that has already been approved for the project, which is $500,000. The document shows another fee for Smith in this phase if he is chosen as the project but does not list the amount of the fee.
Allphin brought up a concern he has about the pending state capital request. He said he wants to have a discussion about what happens if the request is approved for less than the $750,000 and what the city will be able to do with the monument with less money.
"We don't have to do that tonight, but I would like to kind of have more on that," Allphin said.
Schenkel said he agreed with Allphin and that it is good to have realistic expectations of the project so they are not surprised later.
Public Lands and Buildings Committee Chair and At-Large Councilman Harley Noland asked if a resolution was needed to make Smith the project manager or what the next step for the project is.
Schenkel said he would like to speak to Bertram about how to enter into a contract but he thinks it would require legislation.
Noland said he would talk to Bertram about the project to make sure the city is moving forward with it in an "orderly, legal fashion."