Camosy low bidder for Oconomowoc public-safety building

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Camosy Construction of Kenosha has emerged from  stiff competition as the low bidder for the construction of a new law-enforcement center in Oconomowoc.

The company’s $6.7 million offer beat out those from five rivals for a contract to turn a former grocery store in Oconomowoc into what the city is calling a public-safety building for police offices and a municipal court.

The project drew quite a bit of interest from contractors. At least eight companies took out plans and, in the end, six submitted bids. Camosy’s low offer came in just $25,300 under a bid from Absolute Construction Enterprises of Racine, the next-lowest bidder.

Strong competition appears to have paid off for the city. Oconomowoc expected the project to cost about $7.8 million, well above Camosy’s offer of $6.7 million.

The city approved an $11.7 million budget for the project last fall. Plans calls for turning a former Sentry grocery store at  630 E. Wisconsin Ave. into a new law-enforcement complex. City officials chose the site after narrowing down a list of five possible locations, according to city documents. Oconomowoc favored the site it chose because of its location near the city’s center and proximity to main roads.

The project also calls for spending $500,000 to rework the property’s parking lot. The city itself has spent $2 million to acquire the site and has hired the Chicago firm FGM Architects to provide designs.

The top three bids for the main remodeling job came in within $100,000 of each other. Behind Absolute Construction’s second-place offer was Corporate Contractors of Beloit’s bid, which came in just $51,588 higher than Absolute’s. Other bids came from SMA Construction Services, of Green Bay, for $6.9 million; J.H. Hassinger, of Menomonee Falls, for $7.1 million; and Wright Construction Services, of St. Peters, Missouri, for $8.1 million. The offers were due on Aug. 22.

Although Oconomowc has already approved a plan for the new public-safety building, city officials still must decide if they’ll accept Camosy Construction’s low bid. The city’s common council will most likely consider awarding the job during a meeting in September. The project is scheduled to wrap up at the end of next year.

The bid, however, includes a specification allowing whatever contractor wins to complete the work within 400 days of accepting the contract. That leeway means the work could begin this fall or even later. The Oconomowoc public works director has previously said he suspects the inclusion of that language is one reason why the remodeling job elicited so much interest from contractors. Follow @natebeck9