A long-delayed painting project for buildings in the Fountain Hills Civic Center is about to get underway, as the Town Council has approved a cooperative purchase agreement with A&H Painting for the work.

The work was originally scheduled following a reserve analysis conducted in 2015. It has been 13 years since the buildings have been painted.

The work will be done for the Community Center and the Library/Museum building. The colors will become the Town Hall color scheme.

In February, the council deferred approval of the project when questions were raised regarding paint quality, preparation and warranty. Staff, along with Councilman Dennis Brown, a general contractor, consulted with a paint manufacturer. The consultation assisted in revising site preparation, type of paint and scope of the project.

Based on the input staff released requests for proposals and received four responses. The bids ranged from A&H Painting at $71,300, to $475,700 from Fix Painting Company. The nearest bid to A&H was nearly $135,900, or more than $30,000 higher. This prompted some question from the council regarding whether everyone was looking at the project in the same manner.

A resident, Ed Stizza, who stated he has some experience in commercial painting, told the council he does not believe the work can be done for $71,000.

Public Works Director Justin Weldy said they noted the disparity in the bids and questioned the contractors to assure they understood the scope of work, including the quality of product expected. He said staff is satisfied A&H will perform as desired.

Weldy said the high bidder, Fix Painting, is an out-of-state contractor and believes they would have additional mobilization and manpower costs.

The council voted 7-0 to approve the agreement.