New City Hall Windows May Be Wood, Not Cheaper Aluminum

The Benicia City Council will consider a plan to replace the windows on the north side of at its regular Tuesday. 

A plan backed by the Benicia Historic Preservation Review Commission in January would cost about $100,000 and replace 17 windows. The original plan presented to the commission in September would have replaced 35 windows at City Hall for $84,000.

The objection was that the proposed replacement windows were made of aluminum, as are the windows being replaced.

The commission felt the new windows should be made of wood, which was used when the building was built.

A report to the panel said of the less-expensive windows that "the replacement windows will be clad aluminum; however, they represent a major improvement over the existing windows in that they will re-create the appearance of the wood windows installed when the building was built."

The window replacement project originally was to be funded entirely with $85,000 from the Valero/Good Neighbor Steering Committee 2010 VIP Settlement Agreement.

The wood windows approved by the commission at its January 7 meeting bring the project cost to an estimated $218,000 if all windows were to be replaced.

In addition to the $85,000 from the Valero/Good Neighbor Steering Committee Settlement, the city has set aside $60,000 from its building maintenance replacement budget, bringing the total available for the project to $145,000.

Because of the shortfall in funding, the proposed project only replaces the windows on the north side of City Hall, the side facing East L Street, at a cost of just under $100,000. Of that amount, $14,600 has been spent on engineering, design and miscellaneous costs.

After this project is completed, about $45,000 will remain for the window replacement project. 

Because the cost of the project is more than $50,000, the winning bidder must have a general contractor A or B license.