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Red Hook board directs bids on St. Margaret’s ADA upgrades; adds parking to bid package
Summary
The board directed staff to include parking improvements in the contract for ADA exterior work at St. Margaret’s, asked whether gravel or asphalt should be used and heard cost estimates: about $75,000 for gravel and $125,000 for asphalt (a $50,000 difference).
Town officials on Feb. 11 agreed to move forward with bids that combine planned exterior ADA upgrades to St. Margaret’s with a new parking area, and directed staff to finalize bid specifications for spring construction.
Brandy Nelson, the town’s consulting engineer, said the town had previously received a grant for accessibility improvements at St. Margaret’s and that county funds originally earmarked for interior ADA work were being switched to exterior improvements. Nelson described the planned outside scope as an accessible parking space, an accessible aisle and a ramp into the building plus actuators for automatic doors.
Nelson said the master plan also showed room for additional parking between the building and an existing garage, and described cost options for adding that parking to the contract: “Adding a gravel parking area to the scope of work for the base project…would increase the cost by about $75,000. Making that paved…would be about $125,000,” she said, noting approximately a $50,000 premium for asphalt over gravel. Nelson said the expanded work would create about 13 additional spaces in a relatively level, low-tree area.
Board members discussed maintenance, plowing and long-term accessibility. One member said asphalt would be easier to maintain and more reliably accessible for people with mobility limitations. The board instructed the engineering team to finish the bid package and bring final opinion of probable cost back to the board so the town could advertise for spring construction; the board said it would make a budget adjustment at the next meeting.
Why it matters: The project links accessibility improvements required by grant conditions with a practical plan to provide public parking and easier access to a historic building, using a single construction contract to achieve efficiencies.
Details captured at the meeting: The exterior ADA package will include one accessible parking stall, an accessible walkway and ramp and door actuators. The engineering firm proposed two parking-surface options (gravel vs. asphalt) and provided the cost delta of about $50,000. The board directed staff to finalize bid documents and return with a refined cost estimate for a formal budget adjustment and bidding.
No final contract award was made at the Feb. 11 meeting.
