Bob Troutman

The disparity between the two bids may well work to the city's disadvantage in any negotiation to lower the price, said Bob Trautman of DMJM, the city's construction consultant on the project.

He said city officials talked to both contractors after the bids were unsealed, on Nov. 4, and both had concerns for opposite reasons.Swinerton wondered what it had done wrong to be so high.

Clark was wondering what it had done to be so low.

"Clark is very comfortable with their bid," Trautman said.

Bob Troutman, left, is construction manager with DMJM, Foster Hildreth, city project manager for the seismic retrofit of Pasadena City hall. (Staff photo by Walt Mancini)
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Construction manager Bob Troutman of DJMJ said the 76- year-old building will be reinforced to minimize any potential damage.

Troutman's experience on base- isolator projects goes back to the mid-1980s when he worked on the Salt Lake City and County Building, which, like Pasadena City Hall, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A taller structure, the Salt Lake City and County Building is made of stacked stone, making it less durable than the reinforced concrete City Hall building.

Troutman also worked on the base-isolator retrofit of Los Angeles City Hall.

"This is my smallest real job,' Troutman said.