Council awards bid for police women's locker room and lactation room; project to exceed budget by $6,789

Seaford Mayor and Council voted Tuesday to award a construction contract to East Coast Contracting for renovations to the police department’s women's locker room and the creation of a lactation room.

The awarded contract is $76,789.09, the low bid in the solicitation. The city approved a requested budget overrun of $6,789.09; city staff recommended using GMB rent reserves to cover the additional cost.

Why it matters: State law requires a lactation room; council members and the police chief emphasized the need as the department is at capacity for female staff and anticipates additional hires. The renovation is included in the FY26 budget but bid results exceeded the budgeted amount.

Bid and procurement details
The city received four bids. City staff said East Coast Contracting was the low bidder at $76,789.09. Staff checked references and subcontractor lists; referenced prior East Coast work on an IT room in Ocean City, Md., and staff reported favorable references. Because the bid exceeded the $70,000 budgeted amount, the council approved a $6,789.09 overrun to fund the contract.

Funding and council action
Staff recommended using GMB rent reserves to cover the overrun after discussion with the director of finance. Vice Mayor Dan Henderson moved to award the bid and approve the budget overrun; Councilman Orlando Holland seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Next steps and timeline
City staff did not provide a construction start date in the transcript; staff and the police chief said subcontractors listed have worked locally and staff felt comfortable awarding the contract. The council authorized award and budget amendment to proceed to contracting.