Dome project moves forward subject to conditions

Morgan County has found the funds to complete the main dome in the East Canyon Dome Project. Earlier this year county officials received much higher-than-expected bids to complete the dome and have been working for the last several weeks to solidify the funds for the project.

In June meetings Morgan County Commission member Blain Fackrell gave several suggestions on where that money could come from including some untapped economic development funds. His fellow commissioners appear to have signed off on those suggestions.

Now they have found a contractor – kind of.

On Aug. 6, the county commission approved a bid of $264,548.75  for the project by low bidder Calvin L. Wadsworth Construction subject to two significant conditions. Morgan County has a Sept. 30 expiration date for a $100,000 grant it received for the project which must be completed and a report filed with the state. That’s already an extension from a previous date of Feb. 29.

In its bid Calvin L. Wadsworth Construction indicated that it can’t complete the project until Oct. 24. Some county officials are hopeful they can get yet another extension from the state to allow them to award the bid to Wadsworth who came in at $43,000 less than the next bidder, Skinny T Construction. (The bids also included a second amount if the dome were insulated with foam, but commissioners rejected that option as too expensive.)

Fackrell, who has been most involved in this project, expressed skepticism that the state would extend the deadline for another three weeks but agreed to let his colleagues try.

“If it’s 40 grand and it’s one call, I’ll make a call any day,” Commissioner Jared Anderson said.

“I'm actually excited about this,” Anderson said. “We had finally come to a point where we’ve got it out to bid. We finally got a spot where we’re not charging a lot of money for it, and it’s not $600,000.

 ($600,000 was the amount contractors bid earlier this year to complete the dome).

Another issue with the bids on the dome is whether they include a boiler system to provide radiant heat to the building. The county’s request for proposals seems to ask just for the radiant heat piping to be installed and for it to be connected to a future source at some point. County officials now need to go back to the bidders to find out whether the boiler system is included. If not, the future of the whole project could be in jeopardy.

If the bids include the boiler and the state grants the extension, Calvin L. Wadsworth Construction can move forward on the project and get it completed in October. If the deadline remains fast, and its bid includes the boiler, the county will award the bid to Skinny T Construction. With time of the essence the county commission agreed to approve the bids with these major conditions rather than have to bring the issue back in yet another future meeting

Even in a best-case scenario, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done with the structure. County officials are pursuing another grant to fund lighting and fixtures for it.

The Dome Event Center and Village Project is located 12 miles south of the town of Morgan along SR 66. If the main dome-covered structure is completed it will serve as an events center for 200 to 400 people. It is hoped this building will anchor a future “village” of smaller domed buildings where tourists can stay to take advantage of the park’s Dark Sky designation. λ