How much is too much? Apparently, $3.5 million in bids for the
interior renovations of Old City Hall is too much for Bradford City
Council.
At Tuesday’s meeting, council rejected all bids for contracted
services for the interior work on the historic structure, including
general construction, plumbing, heating and air conditioning,
electrical and fire alarms and sprinklers.
“The bids were higher than we anticipated,” explained Ray
McMahon, executive director of the Office of Economic and Community
Development.
“We’re going to look at some options and hopefully at the next
council meeting” have more information on where to go from here, he
said.
McMahon said the OECD and Klauscher Architects Inc., the project
architects for Old City Hall, had reviewed the bids and recommended
that they all be rejected.
“Is this is case where the architects see a champagne budget
with a beer pocketbook?” asked Councilman Tom Shay, suggesting
maybe the architects weren’t realistically considering what the
city could afford.
McMahon said that was not the case.
“He was legitimately, very, very surprised at how this came in,”
McMahon said of the architect. Klauscher had estimated the project
to cost about $2.1 million.
“It wasn’t one of our best days,” he said, referring to the
meeting where the bids were opened.
Council members, with the exception of Mayor Michele Corignani
who was absent from the meeting due to illness, unanimously
rejected all bids.
In the past, Sara Andrews of the OECD estimated the total cost
of the Old City Hall project to be in the realm of $4 to $5
million.
Exterior renovations, including work on the roof, windows and
exterior walls, were done last year with interior renovations
slated to begin this year. Officials with the OECD have explained
that delays have been due to reviews of the plans by the state
Historical Preservation Commission and by the state Labor and
Industry Board.
The completion date had been slated for next spring, but may
change now that the bids have been rejected.
Last year at this time, OECD officials were optimistic that
tenants could be moving in to the building by now.
In other action, council
* authorized the submission of a Hometown Streets/Safe Routes to
School grant application to the Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation for an amount not to exceed $2 million;
* authorized the submission of a planning grant application to
the Department of Community and Economic Development in the amount
of $25,000 in connection with the Bradford Area Keystone Innovation
Project;
* authorized the submission of a community revitalization grant
application to the state DCED for $40,000 for the 2006 Public Works
Department street resurfacing project; and
* authorized an Intermediary Relending Program loan from the
USDA for $25,000 to Micale Fabricators Inc. for the purchase of
equipment.
Council members also set trick-or-treat hours for 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 31.
