Troy administrators said they needed to approach City Council for another $2 million-plus for the Hobart Arena project “to ensure a renovated and more modern arena that will serve the community for many years to come.”

Council last week received a memo explaining the project costs and request for more money from Patrick Titterington, city service and safety director; John Frigge, city auditor; and Martin Hobart, Troy Recreation Commission chairman.

It was scheduled to meet Tuesday evening, Jan. 12, to discuss the request to increase authorized spending from $7,350,000 to $9,650,000.

The memo outlined several factors that contributed to bids opened Nov. 11 that “significantly exceeded estimates and, by extension, council’s authorization.”

Among factors listed following discussions with consultants, bidders and other contractors and suppliers were:

- Prices that began to escalate for project, something that began around mid-2015 in the Miami Valley with escalation by 30 to 40 percent.

- The project was bid had an “aggressive” phasing and time requirements to minimize downtime at the arena.

- The bids took into consideration the uncertainty of renovating a 65-year-old building with systems (electrical, mechanical, plumbing) installed before current building codes.

- With an improved economy, more projects means added demand on the skilled trades.

“Staff and MSA (consultants) strongly believe that there is nothing to gain and everything to lose by attempting to rebid the project. 2016 is forecast to be as challenging as late 2015 with more Miami Valley projects being solicited for bids, making the competition for skilled labor even greater and the potential project costs even higher,” the memo said.

Titterington said later in the week that because the project elements had been scaled back before bidding, the items bid were considered “the bare minimum to make it feasible and reasonable to do the project.”

Removing more project elements would make it not worth doing renovations, he said. The overall project includes expanding three sides of the building to include a multipurpose room, new ticket lobby and more dressing rooms, concession areas and restrooms. A lowest bid for kitchen equipment alone was nearly $500,000, Titterington said.

The arena has 51,000 square feet of space with 26,000 more proposed.

To cover added costs, council was being asked to consider adding $1 million to the amount it earlier agreed to borrow and reappropriating $1.3 million from general fund reserves. Titterington said the $1.3 million is available thanks to higher than estimated income in 2015.

The proposal does not include any money for a second sheet of ice at Hobart Arena. A study the city had conducted on the feasibility of a second ice was attached to the memo on the arena request. The study bottom line: construction costs would exceed $7.6 million and a city subsidy for operations of up to $120,000 likely would be required each year. “The estimated costs make it infeasible and unacceptable to recommend a second sheet of ice,” the memo said.