$1.24M HVAC contract gets board approval.
By: Jessica Beym
Construction on a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system at the Cranbury School could start by December and be completed by the start of school in 2006.
On Tuesday, the school board settled on a bid from Comfort Mechanical Corp. of Long Branch to install the HVAC system for $1.2 million.
The total cost of the project is $1.5 million, with $300,000 going toward design and architectural plans with LAN Architects. Some of the project’s funding will come from a Department of Education Save Our Facilities Program grant for $562,000.
This is the third time the district had gone out to bid for the project. The initial round of bidding for a general contractor exceeded the board’s budget, with the highest bid at $2.7 million and the most reasonable at $1.8 million.
In a second attempt in July, the board opted to search for individual contractors to complete the mechanical, electrical and general obligations. After that failed, the district scaled back its proposal.
School Business Administrator Brian DeLucia said the board eliminated five individual units proposed for the auditorium, which would require individual electric installation for each. Instead, they switched to a single master unit.
While still slightly over the initial budget, the bid by the Comfort Mechanical Corp. was the lowest of all four bidders, with the highest at $1.8 million.
The construction will take place in the sections of the building built in 1949 and 1957. Other parts, such as additional sound insulation and the HVAC system for the nurse’s office, part of the district’s original proposal, are budgeted as a separate project.