At a special meeting held on October 20th the Library Board authorized the Library Director, Robert Lusak to enter into a PLA with local trade unions. A PLA or Project Labor Agreement specifies work that can only be performed by local union construction workers. In return, the labor unions will guarantee no work stoppages. An added benefit of the agreement is that the Library can engage one general contactor for the entire renovation/construction project which will reduce job costs.
To gauge the feasibility of a PLA for the Library, the Board engaged a local construction consultant, Cashin Associates to conduct a cost analysis. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that using one general contractor and a PLA would be beneficial for the Library. There will also be more control over the project by going this route.
While the study was being conducted, the Library wasted no time and has already been speaking with union representatives. An agreement is thought to be at hand.
At the same time the Board has also advertised for proposals from general contractors who are interested in bidding on the project. At the special meeting, the Board authorized the Library's Owner's Representative to establish pre-qualifying criteria for the solicitation of bids from the pre-qualified list of contractors. The actual bidding process will not begin until the PLA is finalized. There are also still a few minor outstanding issues related to building permits that must be resolved.
The construction of public buildings has normally been subject to the Wicks Law which specifies that parts of the construction work must be bid to subcontractors. Critics of the Wicks Law say this is one of the factors that increases the cost and time of constructing public buildings. Recent changes in the law governing public building projects allow a project to proceed with one prime contractor in certain circumstances where a Project Labor Agreement is enacted.
