Village Amends Contract for Village Hall Renovation

The village board this week amended an agreement with Wight Construction Inc. for the Village Hall renovation project, increasing the total contract amount to $2.2 million.

According to Village Administrator Ben Wehmeier, the amended agreement updates the original contract, incorporating change orders made necessary by plumbing, sewer and roofing issues that came up as work progressed on Lemont Village Hall at 418 Main St.

The renovations, which include improvements to the village hall's lobby, roof, windows, exterior doors, bathrooms and conference rooms, were initially projected to cost approximately $1.75 million.

Since mid-summer, temporary village offices have been housed at the former Central School on McCarthy Road. Although village staff had hoped to move back into Village Hall in late November, work on the nearly 120-year-old structure has held its share of unexpected setbacks – moving the likely completion date to late December or early January, according to Wehmeier.

In September, a plumbing contractor discovered a severely damaged underground clay tile and improperly capped and leaking sewer and water lines – some buried under solid rock.

And just last week, while workers were preparing to build rooftop platforms to house the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units, they discovered the roof itself was unstable.

“I went up there myself, and the roof was actually starting to bow,” said Village Administrator Ben Wehmeier. “It was almost like a trampoline. We had to shore it up.”

Wehmeier said that once roof repairs are completed, workers will build a deck-like platform upon which the HVAC units will sit. He explained the platform is required to meet safety codes by providing a flat environment in which workers can safely make repairs or perform routine maintenance on the rooftop units.

But according to Wehmeier, now that the bulk of the exterior work has been largely completed, the building’s interior space is starting to take shape as well.

“Workers are finishing up the drywalling and painting and doing some tile work upstairs,” Wehmeier said. “We are hoping to complete the work around the 21st of December.”  

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

There are plenty of ways to keep up on Lemont news:

• Sign up for our daily email newsletter

• Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take.