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| "The fact that the Lenox Township offices were designed with some very high and hard to reach windows is creating a lack of solid bids to wash and clean them this spring." It's a common problem - companies are just too tight arsed to get the job done professionally or with safety in mind. Not a problem for professional window cleaners, not even high for the professional window cleaner! Click to enlarge. |
Lenox laments lack of bids to clean complex windows: While the Lenox Township offices hold the distinction of being the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-, or LEED-, certified town hall in the state of Michigan, at the moment, the sky-high windows are proving to be a bit troublesome. A recent board of trustees meeting had officials discussing the difficulty they are having in hiring a cleaning firm to spruce up the windows throughout the building.
The $4.2 million facility completed in 2008 includes 19,500 square feet and was designed by French Associates in Rochester. The Lenox offices have many green building features, including the natural light produced by so many large energy efficient windows. “These are not easy windows and this is the problem here, we have to have specialty equipment come in and just, well, the design doesn’t add to maintenance here,” Supervisor Ronald Trombly said.
Deputy Supervisor Jeannette Ventimiglia told officials she received several quotes for the window-cleaning contract so far, including a recent one that had the company concerned about how they might be able to safely reach the highest windows. “The ones giving him the most difficulty are those really tall ones, the small windows way up there because the roof on the outside is slanted and there’s nothing for them to secure themselves so they don’t fall, so those windows are extremely difficult to get to,” Ventimiglia said.
A second, higher quote from another company was presented to officials and Ventimiglia said the firm didn’t express any concerns, and in fact, said they could reach all the windows for cleaning. She also noted two other companies who were supposed to come out for a quote, but haven’t yet. “I don’t know what you want to do – wait for our meeting in two weeks and hopefully by then we will have some more (quotes)?” Ventimiglia said. “Otherwise we’ll have to wait until August,” offered Trombly.
Trustee Chris Boyd wondered if officials should consider not worrying about the high windows for now and just skip those and do the lower ones at considerably less cost. “I’m just looking at this and the price of this, can’t say it really surprised me because of all these windows, but it is still quite expensive,” Boyd said.
The lack of consistent bids for the contract, including several firms not showing up as promised to bid on the project concerned Trombly, who said after a while officials just have to go with what information they have in order to proceed with the work. “This is a very unique building and it’s very difficult to get to some of these windows,” Ventimiglia said. “There’s very little area to put anything to get up high and just makes it very difficult, slanted roofs, everything.”
The higher windows have never been cleaned on the outside before, according to Trombly. Clerk Jodi Kethe said it definitely needs to be done. “I don’t particularly care for the price, but I also know that the cleaning company, what she’s proposing, isn’t good enough being the windows have never been washed,” Kethe said.
Ventimiglia then asked if perhaps officials just want to do the lower-level windows now, get more quotes and then decide at the August meeting how to proceed with the rest of the project. “I think the best bang for the buck is getting them all done at once in a package deal that way we have a date when they’ve all been done and we go from there,” Trombly said. “Start piecing them out I don’t think it will accomplish what we need to.”
Treasurer Karon Ottenbacher said that because they’ve waited this long, she suggests just getting all the quotes together and looking at the issue in August. Kethe then made a motion to table the matter until all the bids come in; the board unanimously approved the motion. The next regular board of trustees meeting is set for Monday, Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
The $4.2 million facility completed in 2008 includes 19,500 square feet and was designed by French Associates in Rochester. The Lenox offices have many green building features, including the natural light produced by so many large energy efficient windows. “These are not easy windows and this is the problem here, we have to have specialty equipment come in and just, well, the design doesn’t add to maintenance here,” Supervisor Ronald Trombly said.
Deputy Supervisor Jeannette Ventimiglia told officials she received several quotes for the window-cleaning contract so far, including a recent one that had the company concerned about how they might be able to safely reach the highest windows. “The ones giving him the most difficulty are those really tall ones, the small windows way up there because the roof on the outside is slanted and there’s nothing for them to secure themselves so they don’t fall, so those windows are extremely difficult to get to,” Ventimiglia said.
A second, higher quote from another company was presented to officials and Ventimiglia said the firm didn’t express any concerns, and in fact, said they could reach all the windows for cleaning. She also noted two other companies who were supposed to come out for a quote, but haven’t yet. “I don’t know what you want to do – wait for our meeting in two weeks and hopefully by then we will have some more (quotes)?” Ventimiglia said. “Otherwise we’ll have to wait until August,” offered Trombly.
Trustee Chris Boyd wondered if officials should consider not worrying about the high windows for now and just skip those and do the lower ones at considerably less cost. “I’m just looking at this and the price of this, can’t say it really surprised me because of all these windows, but it is still quite expensive,” Boyd said.
The lack of consistent bids for the contract, including several firms not showing up as promised to bid on the project concerned Trombly, who said after a while officials just have to go with what information they have in order to proceed with the work. “This is a very unique building and it’s very difficult to get to some of these windows,” Ventimiglia said. “There’s very little area to put anything to get up high and just makes it very difficult, slanted roofs, everything.”
The higher windows have never been cleaned on the outside before, according to Trombly. Clerk Jodi Kethe said it definitely needs to be done. “I don’t particularly care for the price, but I also know that the cleaning company, what she’s proposing, isn’t good enough being the windows have never been washed,” Kethe said.
Ventimiglia then asked if perhaps officials just want to do the lower-level windows now, get more quotes and then decide at the August meeting how to proceed with the rest of the project. “I think the best bang for the buck is getting them all done at once in a package deal that way we have a date when they’ve all been done and we go from there,” Trombly said. “Start piecing them out I don’t think it will accomplish what we need to.”
Treasurer Karon Ottenbacher said that because they’ve waited this long, she suggests just getting all the quotes together and looking at the issue in August. Kethe then made a motion to table the matter until all the bids come in; the board unanimously approved the motion. The next regular board of trustees meeting is set for Monday, Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
1 comment:
The window cleaners shine by Mpower would be ideal on those glass windows! with the self cleaning properties of mpower those windows would self clean and stay clean for months!
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