Building plans need to be scaled down and rebid
By Charley Falkenburg, Special Writer
ROBBINSVILLE — Township officials say the new recreation buildings planned for Blakely and Community parks will have to be scaled back because the initial bids for the projects came back significantly higher than expected.
The Township Council on Jan. 10 rejected a total of 11 bids for the park projects that originally were supposed to be ready this spring.
Each of the two buildings, which were advertised in separate bid packages, was to have indoor bathrooms, a meeting room and a concession stand. The township had estimated the combined cost of the projects would be between $500,000 and $600,000, but even the lowest bids received totaled $1 million.
Officials had planned to pay for the projects with $800,000 the township had from county grants and the sale of a 2.3-acre piece of Community Park to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority for its highway-widening project.
There were four bids for the proposed building at Blakely, a 28-acre park with three fields on Meadowbrook Road used primarily by the youth football and lacrosse programs. Berto Construction, of Rahway, was the low bidder at $478,771, and James R. Ientile, Inc., of Marlboro, had the highest bid of $835,622.
The larger project at Community Park, located at West Manor Way and Gordon Road, had seven bids. Construction Depot, LLC, of Lakewood, came in the lowest at $660,586, and James R. Ientile Inc. bid the highest at $1.09 million.
”The pricing came back significantly above our budget,” Council President Ron Witt said. “But we have a couple of ideas on how we can scale that back and make things a little more budget-friendly.”
Those ideas include reducing the size of the buildings, eliminating the architectural “extras” that make the structures more aesthetically pleasing and using less expensive interior and exterior finishes.
Once the plan revisions are made, Mr. Witt said the town hopes to be able to go out for bid again in four to six weeks. Mr. Witt said the buildings would take about five months to construct, but he couldn’t estimated a completion date for projects until the second round of bids is opened.
Mr. Witt said that given the results of the initial bidding, the township might have to proceed with the projects one at a time instead of simultaneously. Community Park, which has a playground and 10 fields primarily used by youth soccer teams, would be the first priority, he said.
Although eager to remedy the parks’ shortcomings, Mr. Witt said he wasn’t worried about the delays the projects are facing.
”I don’t believe there is much of an impact if the projects are delayed or cancelled because the needs we are addressing are not currently in existence,” Mr. Witt said in an email Monday. “People don’t miss what they don’t have.”
Township Recreation Director Joe Barker said municipal officials would meet in the next two to three weeks to discuss the process of going out to bid again.
The original plans called for Community Park to get a 96-foot by 22-foot facility, constructed as two separate buildings and connected by a 30-foot roof deck. One side of the structure was to have indoor bathrooms, a concession stand and a meeting and storage room for the recreation teams. The other side was supposed to have a 38-foot by 21-foot meeting room for the town, athletic teams or community groups.
The original Blakely Park proposal called for a 50-foot by 22-foot single building with indoor bathrooms, concession stand and a storage/meeting room.
To Mr. Barker, the improvements were the next logical step to build up the town’s recreation sites and create a clean environment for those who use them. He noted both parks now offer only outdoor portable toilets.
”We have little kids running into these Porta Pots,” he said Jan. 14. “Even though they (Porta Potties) are OK, it would be nicer to upgrade the facilities.”
Mr. Witt also said he hoped to soon remove the portable bathrooms and storage sheds, which he described as “unsightly stopgap solutions.”
”Our goal was to enhance the usage of Community and Blakely parks by our residents,” Mr. Witt said. “Hopefully, we can develop viable cost-effective solutions so we make these projects a reality.”