State law requires that all projects using public financing ensure workers are paid the "prevailing wage" - or the wage determined to be fair for skilled tradesmen, taking into account the area's cost of living.
The latest in a series of additions to the ongoing prevailing wage report by Poggemeyer Design Group, Inc. will provide additional money to investigate a number of subcontractor claims on the Scheels All-Sports job site, among other services.
"(Scheels contractor) Sampson Construction has about 200 full-time workers under their watch (to construct Scheels)," said Kevin Felton, owner's representative for RED Development, during a February site tour.
The Scheels All-Sports store is a massive 248,000 square-foot building with a towering glass core topped by skylights that stretches two stories high and encloses an indoor mountain. Scheels is anticipating a Sept. 28 grand opening, said Dave Claflin, RED's vice-president of marketing.
Other contract changes will provide Poggemeyer with more money to continue to track payroll records and do random worker interviews for Q&D Construction's subcontractor workers at the Legends site.
"The work is more challenging than anticipated," said Neil Krutz, Sparks Community Development Director at Monday's city council meeting.
In all, the newest contract extension provides Poggemeyer with $84,000 more in funding for its prevailing wage studies and any investigative follow-up work.
On Feb. 25, the Sparks City Council approved a contract for $70,560 with Poggemeyer to track prevailing wages for Q&D Construction's work at the Legends site from February through its October grand opening for phase one.
That contract for the prevailing wage study by Poggemeyer adds to and extends a $43,680 contract to track prevailing wages for the Scheels construction approved on Nov. 13.
The prevailing wage costs related to constructing the Target Greatlands store is estimated at $3.5 million, according to a report on financing released by Fieldman Rolapp & Associates on Feb. 13. The same report estimated it would cost about $2 million in prevailing wage costs to construct the Lowe's Home Improvement store.
"These are rough estimates provided to our financial advisor; they are subject to being proved out by the developer," Krutz said previously.
Krutz said the added cost of paying prevailing wages depends on the construction contracts for each piece of the project.
"RED picked a union contractor - Q & D Construction - to do phase one," Krutz said previously. "The prevailing wage adds nothing to what they're doing.
The first phase of the development is set to include some buildings within a central mall featuring unique retail, entertainment and restaurants connected by pedestrian paths and landscaping. Q&D is doing the site work, grading, installing the sewer system, storm drains, paving the parking lots, putting in landscaping and lights, and also constructing the pedestrian mall and some outlying buildings in phase one.
Other larger buildings near the pedestrian shopping mall are anticipated to open in May 2009, Krutz said.
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