Editor’s Note: Ripples of pandemic felt

Ripples of pandemic felt

Sarah Wright | Editor

The pandemic ground many aspects of life to a halt; however, construction work, whether public or private, never showed any signs of stopping in many cities across the nation. Still, COVID-19 has unleashed other headaches, including material price increases and shipment delays.

These hindrances, funnily enough, served as one Easter topic for my family, with a contractor relative noting how the prices of materials had skyrocketed in some cases, especially metal roofing; ironically, asphalt shingles were down in price, at least locally. As a result of materials’ increasing costs, some municipalities are finding their project budgets shredded.

For example, Maryville, Mo., is experiencing a $3.5 million gap for its South Main Improvement Project. Northwest Missourian news editor Kendrick Calfee wrote in a March 30, 2021, article, “The three construction companies in consideration are bidding higher than expected because materials like concrete, asphalt and piping cost 20% to 30% higher following the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationwide, similar projects were put on hold last year, and locally, many projects had been moved from summer 2020 construction dates to spring 2021.”

Several options are under consideration by Maryville to carry the project forward, such as seeking additional funding either in house or through relief funds, rebidding the project or adjusting the project’s scope.

Likely many municipalities will be taking similar approaches as they navigate funding projects that have exceeded their original budgets or catch up on infrastructure projects on the docket. For instance, Jacksonville, Fla., is examining an increase and extension of a local gas tax to pay for a $930 million list of transportation projects.

In the quest for better water, the city of Pierre, S.D., went to the taxpayer to see if the city should spend more than $37 million to construct a new water treatment facility, and 73% said yes to it and an increase in their water bills. Unlike traditional water treatment facilities that feature above-ground pools of water, the treatment process will be occurring underground at Pierre’s facility once complete. Additionally, it will be designed to blend in with the aesthetics of Steamboat Park, where it will be housed. Writer Dani Messick shares more about this unique project in this issue.

The Municipal will highlight other building and construction topics, too, including the use of eminent domain; Bay City, Mich.’s, improvements to its James Clements Airport as it adapts to a tourism-based economy; Johnsonville, S.C.’s, newly completed municipal complex; and the state-of-the-art Kalamazoo County Animal Services and Enforcement building in Michigan.

If your municipality is undertaking a project you are proud of, never hesitate to share it with The Municipal. We love to hear from you and see what you and your departments are undertaking — or even what your neighboring cities are doing. I cannot count the times while interviewing an official from one city they will state, “You know what? You really need to talk with ‘x’ city. They are doing this incredible project,” and then they rattle off all these details. It shows a great appreciation for what peers are doing.

As we enter prime building and construction months, we wish you all good luck with your projects. As always, stay well.