Pricetag Keeps Dropping On Evanston's Fountain Square Project

EVANSTON, IL — Depending on weather conditions, the Fountain Square renovation project in downtown Evanston may not be fully finished until more than a year after it had been scheduled to be complete. But the longer it takes, paradoxically, the less it will cost.

Originally due to be done in December 2017, construction on the site has been delayed repeatedly and the City Council has had to allocate additional funds. And while the total pricetag of the project has grown from an initial estimate of $5 million, the city's share is ever decreasing due to daily deductions it being assessed on its contractor for failing to meet a deadline.

Evanston Public Works Director Dave Stoneback said last month the first delay was caused by the application process for a permit from state health officials. After a break for the winter, the city began been assessing late fees on the contractors again in May.

Stoneback told aldermen in a memo ahead of the City Council's Aug. 13 meeting that the general contractor selected by the city, Copenhaver Construction of Gilberts, neglected to test the water pressure of the fountain's underground pipes before installing the concrete base and granite finish.

A pipe lining company needed to be called in to seal up the underground joints, Stoneback said. That work went slowly due to small pipes and multiple bends. The repairs were complete for pressure testing ahead of the last week of August.

Stefanie Levine, the city's project manager for the renovations, said Wednesday the contractor has not yet provided a final schedule to the city of its plans for completion. The programmable controls for the fountain are in the process of being tested she said, which is expected to be done within than 60 days. There may be additional work needed after it is complete.

"In prior projects that I've been involved with that have had fountains, they tend to be – for lack of a better word – kind of fussy. They're very unique installations," Levine said. "So there could be some troubleshooting needed to fine tune the system, I would expect that to occur."

But once the weather turns and temperatures drop below freezing, Levine said the fountain cannot be operated without risking damage.

"Depending on when they finish, if it's too late in the season, we will have to winterize the equipment, shut it down for the entire winter and pick it back up in the spring," she said.

Copenhaver is being charged $1,425 per calendar day due to failing to meet project deadlines, Levine said. As of Aug. 20, the company had been penalized more than $178,000. That money will be subtracted from the $5.9 million contract Copenhaver was awarded.

City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said the savings was likely to remain in the Washington National tax increment financing district, which is due to expire at the end of the year and financed the renovations. Some of the money may go toward improvements to sidewalks immediately adjacent to the square, he said.

City Engineer Laura Biggs told a joint meeting of the 6th and 7th wards in June that city staff have "had issues" with Copenhaver since as soon as the work began, the Evanston RoundTable reported. Evanston managed to recoup about $64,000 in damages from Copenhaver from a clause in the contract and hired Christopher Burke Engineering to supervise the rest of the project.

The city's contract with the engineering consultancy has grown to nearly $985,000 after the approval of two change orders during the project's continued delays, with the latest shifting the deadline for project completion from the end of the month to the end of the year. The extra cost of Burke Engineering is being covered by the penalties assessed to Copenhaver, according to Stoneback.

The installation of glass panels for the square's veterans memorial was also delayed when the glass was broken during transport. Levine said replacements have been delivered and installation is expected to be complete by the end of the week.

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