The Town Council has approved a $127,790 contract to replace carpeting in the Fountain Hills Library.

Facilities and Environmental Supervisor Raymond Rees reported the existing carpeting has been in nearly 10 years and is in need of replacing. He said the carpet is a tile type, which is glued to the subfloor for ease of replacement of individual pieces for repair.

However, Rees said the carpeting is beginning to come up along the edges, causing a trip hazard and staff has been using tape on the seams to reduce the hazard.

Rees reported there is an issue with moisture in the soil beneath the building and the fact that no moisture barrier was installed beneath the concrete at the time the facility was constructed. There is a similar problem at the Community Center.

“The proposed contract would provide remediation of the moisture in the concrete by providing a moisture barrier between the concrete subfloor and the carpeting,” Rees told the council.

The $127,790 will cover the cost of purchasing the carpet, installation and the vapor barrier in the library. The council was also asked to authorize another $242,210 on the contract to replace the Community Center carpet. That is to take place after the town has accumulated the additional funds in the Capital Facilities Replacement Fund. The money for the library project is currently available.

Councilman David Spelich asked how the project was bid.

“This seems like an awful lot of money, and only after nine years,” Spelich said. “Do we do our own bidding, or are there other options such as tile?

“I just can’t wrap my head around this.”

Rees explained that the contract, with Continental Flooring Company, is a cooperative purchase agreement through the state. That avoids the typical bidding process by having the state do the vetting on the contractors.

Town Manager Grady Miller said the cooperative purchasing arrangement offers municipalities and other eligible participants a substantial savings on such projects.

Councilman Alan Magazine asked about the priority on the project.

“The public needs to understand we have a long list of maintenance items we can’t keep up with,” Magazine said. “In the future I will be asking about the priorities.”

Councilman Dennis Brown asked for confirmation that the moisture issue affecting the life of the carpet would be remediated with the contract.

Rees said it is understood that is part of the agreement, and in fact the material for the moisture barrier is about $40,000 of the contract.

Miller emphasized that the town’s arrangement with the Maricopa County Library District, which operates and staffs the facility, is a good one. He said the annual maintenance, which the town pays, is not that much on the facility.

Rees also said the Friends of the Library group is being asked to contribute for a painting project in the library at the same time the carpeting is replaced.

The vote to approve the agreement was 6-1 with an aggregate total not to exceed $370,000 for both the library and Community Center.

Miller said the Library District is planning the work for the spring, possibly April and the facility will need to close during the work.