Jon Noyes, landscape designer with Oakland County Parks and Recreation, was pleased to announce that Phase One of the Ellis Barn move in Springfield Twp. is complete, and Phase Two is well underway.
‘We started Phase II this last week,? Noyes told those in attendance at a special meeting held on Oct. 16. ‘The request for bids goes out on Monday.?
Phase One of moving the historic barn began almost a year and a half ago. This step has included everything from gathering primary funding to designing the entire project.
Noyes explained that funding for the move will be coming through the federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, and administered through the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) in combination with the Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC). The project qualified for transportation funding since the barn will be used as a trail head for ‘Oak Routes,? a county-wide trailway system; the new home base for the Oakland County Mounted Police; and as housing to encourage equine use.
Noyes stated that acquiring this portion of the funding was easy; the difficult part was fitting a barn move into a transportation project mold. In order to do this, the project was classified under relocation and rehabilitation, not restoration. Noyes explained that this provided the most flexibility. For example, designers can use a more traditional poured foundation instead of a cobbled foundation.
‘It’s a compromise position,? he stated. ‘We can make the barn more usable.?
In addition to this, project designers also needed to make all project requirements fit within MDOT and RCOC regulations. This meant designing the move like a highway project, including making the barn building language understandable to a highway engineer.
‘We had to employ an architect to actually craft this document for us,? explained Noyes.
Noyes added that the process was difficult, and organizers learned a lot about the legal red tape required, but everything has reached the stage for preparing the move.
As of last week, a formal document was created so that anyone interested in bidding on the project could prequalify their company. Prequalifying for the bid process includes documenting a company’s previous experience and showing skill in iron masonry and wood working. Noyes stated that, to date, seven craftsmen have prequalified.
Official bids for the project went out this past Monday. Anyone can bid on the project, but for a bid to be opened, the company must have prequalified with Oakland County Parks and Recreation.
Noyes said that a public bid opening will be hosted at the end of November by RCOC. The lowest bidder will be brought before the Parks and Recreation commission. If the bid if accepted by the commission, RCOC will be able to enter into a contract and work can begin.
‘The first step the contractor will take will be to inventory everything,? said Noyes. ‘The disassembly will begin after that.?
Unfortunately, due to the financial constraints of the project, some items of the barn will not be completed with the move. For example, federal funding will not provide for the well known cupolas at the top of the barn to be added after the move. Noyes said that additional fund-raising will have to be done for this step, such as approaching foundations, looking for grants and asking for in-kind service.
The RCOC will be paying for all the work in the move and will be reimbursed for the cost through the federal funds after the project is complete.