BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer
The Tinton Falls Borough Council is grumbling about climbing costs associated with the new $11.8-million municipal complex, and Councilman Peter Maclearie is saying, “I told you so” again.
“Last week council just had to authorize payment of a bill, the cost of which was already accounted for in the bond a few months ago, for the additional $3 million to cover the additional costs of the municipal complex,” Mayor Ann McNamara said. “They had to pay the bill for the services rendered. I guess the cost of the service they were paying for, set apart from the total, was just a shock to see.”
That cost was $250,000 to be paid to architects Kaplan Gaunt DeSantis, Red Bank, primarily for renderings of the new complex. The council’s dismay was due to the fact that taxpayers essentially were paying for renderings of a building that was not being built.
That is because since the project was originally conceived about three years ago, its scope and size have changed in reaction to rising construction costs. For one reason or another, even though the $2 million prefabricated Department of Public Works building has been up and in use for more than a year, construction of the main complex — originally priced at $6.8 million — never went out to bid.
The wait ended up costing the town an additional $3 million, bringing the price of the main complex up to $9.8 million and the total project (with Public Works) up to $11.8 million. Officials blamed the bulk of that spike on an inordinate hike in steel costs. Now, the bids on the building’s construction are finally going to be opened on Nov. 3.
But, it’s three years and $3 million later, including $250,000 for drawings of buildings that are ultimately not being built. Then and now, Councilman Peter Maclearie was shaking his head in disbelief and saying “I told you so.”
The only way to avoid the extra $3 million for the 37,000 square-foot building was to scale its size back to 27,000 square feet. The architects got to work on options, including a scaled back version of the town hall, one which would utilize the present town hall and another which would divide headquarters for various services between a revamped existing building and a new structure on the lawn in front of it.
All those renderings and consultations carried the price tag of $250,000 and council ended up sticking with the original plan and paying the new price of $3 million more.
“I’m disappointed and disgusted with the whole thing,” said Maclearie. “I realize we’re talking about a percentage of the total cost, but I also realize that if the project had been better managed from the start and we had started construction when we were supposed to, three years ago, taxpayers would not have to be footing the extra $3 million bill. Again, it was just too late. I told them so. But the services had been rendered and we had to pay the bill – reluctantly.”
Council President Jerome Donlon said he hated the idea of paying that bill, too. “I know we already had the cost covered with that new bond in July. Looking at that one bill separately, though, made us realize the high price to pay for that wait,” he said. “It just makes us look bad. I’m not thrilled, but we had the contract. The services were rendered and we had to pay it. After all, in fairness, the architects did do what we asked them to do.”
Donlon added that the council discussed saying no to paying the bill, but it would have been a breech of contract and there would have been ramifications.
“What else could we do?” he asked. “I’m sure everyone would say, ‘If we had to do it over again, things would have been done differently’ but it’s too late now.”
McNamara agreed.
“What’s important is not looking up in the building we’re in now and seeing a piece of the ceiling falling on your head,” she quipped. “It’s just high time we got out of this falling down building.”