WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – The removal of two controversial planters from the front of Key Bank in downtown Watertown may be a lot more expensive than originally thought.
“The problem right now that the public should know – the significant cost to remove them is at 90 plus thousand dollars,” said Watertown mayor Jeff Smith.
When the city voted to remove these planters from in front of Key Bank back in September, it was expected to cost $40,000. With the current estimate of $90,000, City Manager Ken Mix says he’s working to bring the number back down.
“We got a proposal from the contractor that was much higher than we think is reasonable, so we’re trying to negotiate that down,” Mix said.
City Council Member Cliff Olney says the cost is just too much. He feels council should have had greater involvement when it came to seeking out contractors.
“We should have had more people involved in it. Certainly we could get a lower price. That’s just something I don’t understand why the manager wouldn’t ask other contractors to bid on this because it was going to be removed,” Olney said.
Olney hopes the city will seek out an alternative, cheaper contractor. He says he’s optimistic the planters will eventually be removed and the parking spots they replaced will be restored.
“Contractors do this sometimes when they don’t really need to work. They just throw a price out. When they get it they make more profit. That’s what it seems like here,” Olney said.
While she agrees that the project’s estimated cost is too high, mayor-elect Sarah Compo Pierce says it may be in the city’s best interest to hold off on removing the planters altogether.
“Before we spend any more taxpayer money I would like to just wait and see if it is creating any significant issues,” Compo Pierce said.
According to Mix, the price of $90,000 was the contractor’s initial proposal. He hopes to bring the cost more in line with the projected $40,000.
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