Referendum projects advance; Tenafly to re-advertise THS chiller after bids exceed budget
Summary
District staff gave an update on multiple referendum construction projects and said bids for the high school chiller were rejected as over budget; the district plans to re-advertise.
District administrators gave the board an update on referendum-funded construction and facility projects and said the district will re-advertise bids for a Tenafly High School chiller after the recent submissions came in over budget.
During the referendum update, district staff (identified in the record as Steven) said work will begin this summer on a series of projects: a unit ventilator project at Tenafly High School; gym renovations at the high school and middle school starting Memorial Day weekend with expected completion in early fall; a middle-school locker project with demolition scheduled for June 19; and ceiling and lighting work at Stillman, Smith and McKay, with motion language on the agenda to select a contractor for ceiling-grid replacement at Stillman.
Steven said architects are finalizing vestibule designs for all six buildings and that bids and construction start dates are expected later this year or in summer 2025. The district signed off on a field house design and sent documents to an architect; construction bids are expected later in 2025. The middle school addition was moved up with the district aiming for the 2026–27 school year, while planned elementary additions were described as likely coming online for 2027–28. The Smith Drainage Project will be bid later in the year, with work expected to finish by next summer. The Stillman Elevator Project is under way with excavation and courtyard work continuing into fall; the elevator tower construction and associated bathroom work are scheduled to continue through summer and be online by fall.
On the chiller, Steven said all bids for the Tenafly High School chiller were over budget and that the district will reject those bids and immediately re-advertise. The transcript records the district’s speaker describing the rejection and plan to re-bid; the meeting record does not include the roll-call vote on that specific motion.
Separately, the board held and closed a public hearing on the proposed 2025–26 budget. District staff said there were no changes to the budget since the March 17 presentation, that the county approved the budget on April 2, and that the budget was advertised in the Bergen Record on April 21 to satisfy statutory notice requirements. The board then moved to close the public hearing (motion by Igor; second by Adam) and recorded a roll-call vote with members responding in the affirmative.
Ending: District staff said the chiller procurement will be re-advertised and other referendum projects will continue through staged bidding and construction; specific contract awards and future bid results will be brought to the board for action.
