Members of the State Capitol Repair Expenditure Oversight Committee voted Thursday to ask the Legislature to delay the due date of its final plan by six months.
Office of Management and Enterprise Services Capitol Restoration Project Manager Trait Thompson said the extension will allow the vendor that will be selected to do the Capitol's interior work more time to investigate what needs to be done to the building and to develop more accurate cost estimates.
That vendor will be chosen by the end of February, Thompson explained, allowing them just two months to complete the work. Thompson said that timeline had been called "aggressive." He said he believed it to be "unrealistic."
House Joint Resolution 1033, which passed during the 2014 legislative session, requires the committee to deliver its final plan no later than June 30, 2015. The plan is to include the final scope of work developed by the vendor and the vendor's project phasing. The motion approved by the committee Thursday would ask that the law be amended to set a mid-December due date for the plan.
Thompson said it would allow time for further inspection as well as a discussion regarding usage of space in the Capitol, something those involved in the Kansas Capitol's renovations suggested during visits there. Finally, Thompson said knowing more about what needs to be done would improve the cost estimates for the building's renovations.
A contract for the interior restoration will be awarded in February through the state's competitive bidding process. Once selected, the contractor will begin working with the committee to develop a scope of work for the project based on the goals contained in the report the committee approved Thursday.
A contract for the exterior restoration will be awarded Dec. 22 and that work should start in the spring, the committee was told.
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