City might change apprenticeship program

City lawmakers are considering a proposed change to the city’s apprenticeship program that could ensure more bidders for Kingston construction projects.

During a meeting of the Common Council’s Finance and Audit Committee last week, City Engineer Ralph Swenson said he would like a second category created for Kingston’s apprenticeship program that would be specifically for building trades. He said the apprenticeship program, created in the 1990s and modified in 2004, requires all contractors and subcontractors who work on city construction projects that cost in excess of $100,000 to have apprenticeship programs.

“That’s essentially all our projects,” Swenson said.

Swenson said creating a new category strictly for building trades, and setting the project cost threshold at $350,000, could attract more bidders. He said the building trades category would include such work as roofing, carpentry, internal plumbing and electric.

“It’s what you would do within a building or associated with a building, and not associated with a street or highway,” Swenson said. He said the general construction category would remain for all other city work.

Swenson said the building trades are an area where there does not seem to be enough bidding participation with contractors because they do not have apprenticeship programs. He said some of those are smaller contractors that don’t have the budget to administer such a program, which puts them at a disadvantage when bidding on city projects.

City Comptroller John Tuey said the proposed change would exclude building construction.

Swenson said the $350,000 threshold could be modified if the city does not see an increase in the number of contractors bidding on building trade work.

The Finance and Audit Committee adopted a resolution creating the new building trades category. The measure goes to the full Common Council for a vote early next month.