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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: Governor should not try to tilt LNG process ... From the Council: Have a safe, fun Halloween ... Guest Opinion: The other side of the fire station story ... Our View: Governor should not try to tilt LNG process ... From the Council: Have a safe, fun Halloween ... Guest Opinion: The other side of the fire station story ... GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: The other side of the fire station story By J. David Wilkerson MailTribune.com By J. David Wilkerson Posted Oct. 25, 2015 @ 12:01 am By J. David Wilkerson Posted Oct. 25, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Buildings are the largest hand-made objects in our environment, and the process of creating and building them is incredibly rewarding and sometimes challenging. When challenges arise, it’s tempting to over-simplify a situation, especially when the project stakeholders are disappointed in the outcome. We would like to take this opportunity to correct or clarify several issues related to the fire station cost overruns and subsequent redesign efforts. Many readers might not know that: ORW Architecture placed second in the initial selection process for the fire station projects. After the first architect was terminated during the design phase, the city followed its established procedures and asked ORW to submit a proposal to finish the project. Taking on a project mid-stream is a challenge for any design team. We must spend considerable time understanding the project’s goals and parameters, and reviewing documentation related to previous design decisions. In order to keep the project costs in line with previous estimates, the city requested that ORW finish the project for the fee remaining after termination of the previous architect. Due to our relationship with the City of Medford on the police station project, we negotiated with the city to bring our proposed fee in line with their expectations. Since the city’s project team and the city council were satisfied with the established design, they asked us to carry the project forward as-is. This included accepting the overall design direction that was established at the onset of the project. Given the city’s requests, our contract excluded responsibility for changes that might alter the established design. This protection assisted in keeping the fee in line with the city’s expectations, but meant that there could be additional fees charged for future changes. During our tenure on the fire station projects, ORW Architecture proposed several cost saving suggestions and even provided an alternate design to the project team at no charge. At that time it was reinforced that we were not to make any changes to the established design. However, our firm is now being publicly pressured to take responsibility for the original design, a design which has proven to be more costly than the original budget, and perform substantial redesign work for free. On both the police and fire station projects, the entire design process has been guided at every step by the city’s Project Team, which included the heads of Finance, Building & Planning, Technology Services, and Emergency Management, in addition to representatives from Facilities Management and the Fire and Police Departments. City staff have gone above and beyond the call of duty to remain engaged, offer input, and safeguard the city’s interests. Unfortunately, the team’s best efforts to deliver the project on-time and on-budget project were stymied by changes in the construction market. This past spring and summer, many large construction projects hit the bidding market simultaneously. As the supply of labor was outstripped by demand, there was an unprecedented spike in construction costs which was reflected in the bids on this project. Since the subcontractor bids were received directly by the city, we know that they do indeed represent the current state of the market. To date, ORW Architecture has provided over $25,000 in Additional Services at no cost to the City of Medford. We have done this in the interest of our ongoing client relationship with the city and our efforts to be an engaged community partner. We hope this effort will serve to set the record straight, and help the public to better understand the issues involved. J. David Wilkerson, II AIA LEED-AP, is a principal with ORW Architecture. By J. David Wilkerson MailTribune.com By J. David Wilkerson Posted Oct. 25, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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