AMES ANIMAL SERVICES FACILITY - CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT BIDS
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 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.
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. In this preliminary discussion, it was believed that the base bid could be reduced by $100,000 to $200,000 through these efforts. Staff would like a minimum contingency balance of $250,000, so more savings or additional funding will be needed to provide such a balance.
In addition, a decision will need to be reached regarding inclusion of any of the add-alternates that were offered outside of the base bid. A discussion regarding these add-alternates, the bid amount for them from HPC, and staff's preliminary thoughts regarding each of them, is below:
- Dog run shade structures ($163,000) - Among the add-alternates, staff believes this one has the most direct impact on animal and volunteer well-being. At the City Council discussion on August 11, individual Council Members made comments supporting the inclusion of this alternate. Staff has asked HPC to confirm the pricing on this alternate since it was higher than estimated and higher than some of the other bidders. Further discussions need to occur to determine if there is a less costly manner in which to provide shade to the dog areas.
- Epoxy flooring (-$11,000) - Given the deduct offered, staff believes this epoxy flooring alternative should be included in the bid award.
- Wood look catio louvers ($45,000) - This is a primarily cosmetic component to the project. Staff believes the bid amount for this add-alternate is competitive. However, it is also a component that does not significantly affect animal care. Additionally, it may be possible to add a similar feature at a later date.
- Parking lot addition ($66,000) - The base bid specifications add two parking spaces compared to the existing facility on Billy Sunday Road. This add-alternate provides another 12 parking spaces. At the City Council discussion on August 11, individual Council Members made comments supporting the inclusion of this alternate. Staff believes the bid amount for this add-alternate is competitive. However, it is also a component that does not affect animal care and could be added in a future project.
- Exterior building signage ($71,000) - This is a cosmetic component to the project, which does not affect animal care. Staff can look to identify alternative ways in which to incorporate signage into the project.
- Building automation ($53,000) - This alternate provides a system that coordinates the various mechanical systems throughout the building. Although the bid amount for this alternate is approximately 1/3 of the estimated amount, Staff does not believe this alternate adds enough value to the project to make its inclusion worthwhile. Excluding this system will also avoid some future operating costs to maintain this system.
- Wood look metal entry ($45,000) - This is a cosmetic component to the project. Staff believes the bid amount for this add-alternate is competitive. However, it is also a component that does not affect animal care.
- Catio enclosure ($120,000) - Staff has asked HPC to confirm the pricing on this alternate since it was higher than some of the other bidders. This alternate would be difficult to add to the building at a later date due to the manner in which it is integrated into the building. It also provides some additional space for cats to inhabit, which has an impact on animal care.
To summarize, staff believes it would be worth having further discussions with HPC and the design team, with a goal to incorporate add-alternates 1, 2, 4, and 8. Preliminary discussions regarding the value engineering were positive, so staff would like time to discuss with HPC reducing the base bid before coming back to City Council with a deduct change order and information on any alternates. Further Council direction regarding these add-alternates would allow staff to focus its discussions with the contractor and design team.
If it is assumed there are no changes to the pricing of these add-alternate components, then 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 4 (Parking lot addition) | 66,000 |
| Alternate 8 (Catio enclosure) | 120,000 |
| Estimated Construction Contract Total | $ 5,688,000 |
| Construction contingency | 250,000 |
| Estimated total construction expenses | 5,938,000 |
| Shortfall from $5,441,081 construction budget | ($496,919) |
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 | ||
| Change Order No. 1 (Detailed Design/Construction Specs) | 588,000 | ||
| Change Order No. 2 (additional scope for Dog Run access) | 24,440 | ||
| Construction/Renovation | 5,441,081 | ||
| 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 | ||
| TOTALS | $ 7,718,956 |
$ 7,718,956 |
|
- Accept the report of bids and delay the award to provide staff additional time to evaluate the bids and project budget.
City staff is also requesting that the Council provide guidance regarding the combination of alternates, if any, that staff should further discuss with the apparent low bidder and the design team. - Accept the report of bids and award a contract.
- Accept the report of bids, 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. Staff believes that through conversations between the low bidder changes can be made to lower the base bid without impacting the function of the building. However, more time is necessary to complete these discussions and prepare for award, including any alternates that the Council would want to consider. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council approve Alternative #1, as described above.