AMES ANIMAL SERVICES FACILITY - AWARD OF CONTRACT AND CHANGE ORDER NO. 1
The City has purchased the former Eagle's Loft Daycare property at 2715 Dayton Avenue in a project to renovate and expand it into a new Ames Animal Services Facility. The City retained INVISION Architecture LTD (INVISION), Des Moines, Iowa, to design the facility using best practices outlined by the American Society of Veterinarians (ASV) Guidelines for Sheltering, and meeting the requirements for Animal Welfare of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS).
INVISION and its sub-consultants have worked with City staff and fundraisers to complete a design of the facility, which is broken into three spaces: 1) cat spaces, 2) dog spaces, and 3) human spaces. This design features an approximately 1,700 square-foot addition that will be utilized as dog space and will have a flat roof to accommodate mechanical equipment.
BIDS:
The invitation to bid was issued on August 25, 2026. It contained eight add-alternates:
1. Dog run shade structures
2. Replace resilient corridor flooring with epoxy
3. Catio screens
4. Parking lot addition
5. Exterior building signage
6. Building automation
7. Wood-look metal entry trellis
8. Catio on south elevation
On September 30, 2026, bids were received as follows:
| Bidders | Base Bid | Add Alternate #1 - Dog Run Shade Structures | Add Alternate #2 - Epoxy Flooring | Add Alternate #3 - Wood Look Metal Louvers at Catio | Add Alternate #4 - Parking Lot Addition | Add Alternate #5 - Exterior Building Signage | Add Alternate #6 - Building Automation | Add Alternate #7 - Wood Look Metal Louver at Entry | Add Alternate #8 - Catio Enclosure |
| HPC, LLC, Ames, IA | $5,500,000 | 163,000 | (11,000) | 45,000 | 66,000 | 71,000 | 53,000 | 45,000 | 120,000 |
| Big Lake Construction, LLC, Des Moines, IA | $5,698,000 | 199,000 | (5,400) | 76,000 | 84,000 | 37,500 | 24,600 | 87,800 | 98,300 |
| Munro Construction Co, Johnston, IA | $5,733,000 | 99,000 | (6,000) | 90,750 | 79,000 | 54,500 | 106,500 | 98,500 | 206,000 |
| Ball Team, LLC, Urbandale, IA | $5,786,530 | 146,690 | - | 132,376 | 75,955 | 68,048 | 48,278 | 112,403 | 161,409 |
|
Greiner Construction, Des Moines, IA |
$5,925,000 | 140,100 | (16,800) | 137,400 | 83,400 | 68,700 | 103,500 | 115,900 | 192,100 |
| Keystone Construction Services, Waukee, IA | $6,200,000 | 88,000 | (10,000) | 130,000 | 67,000 | 52,000 | 51,000 | 10,000 | 152,000 |
| Kingland Construction Services, Forest City, IA | $6,600,000 | 330,000 | 160,000 | 137,000 | 76,000 | 58,000 | 25,000 | 115,000 | 95,000 |
The base bid received from HPC, the low bidder, is $5,500,000. The estimated construction cost with no contingency was $5,441,081, leaving a shortfall of $58,919 if the base bid was to be awarded. On October 13, 2027 City Council directed staff to evaluate the bids, project budget, and evaluate Alternatives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 for inclusion in the project.
Following the bid opening, staff and the design team met with HPC to identify value engineering items that could reduce the base bid without affecting the overall function of the spaces. HPC has sent value engineering items to staff and the design team for review and approval. At this time, staff and the design team have agreed that changes to light fixtures, construction methods, HVAC changes, and siding are acceptable and will not change the usefulness of the building (see attachment for detailed information about agreed changes, rejected changes, and pending changes).
The changes supported by the architect and staff to date reduce the base contract total by $113,900. A change order to deduct this amount from the contract has been signed by HPC and returned to staff. The City Council is being asked to award the contract and approve Change Order #1 at this same meeting.
Several other value engineering items are still under review. Any changes resulting from this review will be packaged into one or more subsequent changes for approval at a later date by staff or City Council, as appropriate. Staff estimates the total savings from the changes, inclusive of the items in Change Order #1, to be $150,000. Staff will attempt to finalize these other items by the time the contract and bond are approved by Council.
Assuming the deducts total the anticipated $150,000 in savings, the construction cost would be as follows:
| ITEM | AMOUNT |
| Base Bid | $ 5,500,000 |
| Estimated Base Bid Deducts | (150,000) |
| Alternate 1 (Dog run shade structures) | 163,000 |
| Alternate 2 (Epoxy flooring) | (11,000) |
| Alternate 3 (Wood look metal louvers at catio) | 45,000 |
| Alternate 4 (Parking lot addition) | 66,000 |
| Alternate 5 (Exterior Building Signage) | 71,000 |
| Alternate 7 (Wood look metal louver at Entry) | 45,000 |
| Alternate 8 (Catio enclosure) | 120,000 |
| Estimated Construction Contract Total | $ 5,849,000 |
| Construction contingency | 250,000 |
| Estimated total construction expenses | 6,099,000 |
| Shortfall from $5,441,081 construction budget | ($657,919) |
Staff has reviewed the funding available to address the shortfall. The private donations received to date for the project have earned interest totaling $95,354. This amount can be applied to the project as additional funding. City staff would recommend that the remaining shortfall of $562,565 be financed from the Council Priorities Capital Fund. This fund currently has a balance of $6,232,856.
At the conclusion of the project, any further interest earned on the deposited donation funds will be applied to the project, and the balance of expenses up to the $562,565 amount will be financed from the Council Priorities Capital Fund. Any funds remaining at the end of the project will be returned to the Council Priorities Capital Fund.
The overall budget for this project, inclusive of design, site acquisition, and site investigation, is shown below:
| EXPENSES | FUNDING SOURCES | ||
| Previous Site Investigation | $ 4,075 | ||
| 2715 Dayton Purchase Option | 5,000 | ||
| Site Acquisition | 1,100,000 | ||
| Conceptual Design | 66,360 | ||
| Design Change Order No. 1 (Detailed Design/Construction Specs) | 588,000 | ||
| Design Change Order No. 2 (additional scope for Dog Run access) | 24,440 | ||
| Construction/Renovation Base Bid | 5,500,000 | ||
| Construction Bid Alternates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, & 8 | 499,000 | ||
| Change Order #1 |
(113,900) | ||
| Anticipated Change Order #2 | (36,100) | ||
| Contingency | 250,000 | ||
| FF&E/Permits | 450,000 | ||
| 3rd Party Testing/Geotechnical | 40,000 | ||
| Stormwater Quality CIP Funding | $ 30,000 | ||
| Sanitary Sewer Utility Fund | 29,000 | ||
| Shared Use Path Maintenance Program available balance (LOST) | 16,500 | ||
| FY 2023/24 General Fund Savings | 100,000 | ||
| Council Priorities Capital Fund | 2,855,000 | ||
| Donations | 4,534,040 | ||
| Supplemental Donation for Dog Area Doors | 154,416 | ||
| Interest Earned on Donations | 95,354 | ||
| Additional Funding from Council Priorities Capital Fund | 562,565 | ||
| TOTALS | $ 8,376,875 |
$ 8,376,875 |
|
- Approve final plans and specifications and award a contract to HPC, LLC of Ames, Iowa in the amount of $5,500,000 for the base bid and Alternates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 & 8 for a total of $5,999,000.
- Approve Change Order #1, a deduct in the amount of $113,900.
- Allocate $562,565 to the project from the Council Priorities Capital Fund. Any unused funds will be returned to the Council Priorities Capital Fund.
- Direct staff to further refine the potential cost savings and prepare change orders as necessary to implement them.
- Approve Change Order #1, a deduct in the amount of $113,900.
- Approve final plans and specifications and award a contract to HPC, LLC of Ames, Iowa in the amount of $5,500,000.
- Approve Change Order #1, a deduct in the amount of $113,900.
- Approve a different combination of Alternates for award.
- Allocate funding from the Council Priorities Capital Fund in the amount necessary to finance the shortfall in funding and provide a $250,000 contingency.
- Approve Change Order #1, a deduct in the amount of $113,900.
- Reject all bids, and direct staff to work with the design team to modify the project for another invitation to bid.
The bids received for the Animal Services Facility project exceed the estimate and the available funding for the project. Staff has had conversations with the design team and the low bidder and a change order has been signed by the contractor that will reduce the contract cost by $113,900. These changes are not expected to impact the function of the building.
Further reductions are believed to be achievable, which should result in a total deduct amount of approximately $150,000. In addition, Staff will continue to discuss these issues with the contractor and will process further change orders as appropriate once savings have been finalized.
In order to proceed with the alternates as directed by City Council on October 13, the City Council will need to authorize the use of up to an additional $562,565 from the Council Priorities Capital Fund. Any unused funding will be returned to that account at the conclusion of construction.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council approve Alternative #1a-c, as described above.