Council approves $4.93 million DPW building contract; monitoring-well testing and salt-shed alternate left for later

The Township of Washington Council voted Sept. 8 to award a contract for a new Department of Public Works building to Premier Building and Construction Management, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $4,933,000.

Township Administrator Mark DeCarlo and staff said the base bid was awarded and that two alternates'a rear access driveway and a salt-shed construction'were not awarded because the township could not certify sufficient funds for the full scope at this time. ‘‘We are not awarding alternate 1 and alternate 2 and we're just awarding the base bid for premier at $4,933,000,’’ DeCarlo said, noting the strategy to rebid alternates later if needed.

DeCarlo told the council the award does not cover related professional costs such as environmental oversight and engineering; the packet lists proposal amounts including $19,740 for Lisco Environmental for monitoring-well oversight and about $70,000 for engineering services. Council discussed monitoring wells that remain from prior site remediation and the possibility that additional testing or remediation could be required. Staff said two rounds of testing and abandonment of five wells inside the proposed building footprint are required now and that a larger remediation scenario (reinstallation/expanded work) could reach roughly $177,000 if contaminants persist.

Council members pressed for comprehensive testing to avoid repeated rounds of sampling. DeCarlo said some prior work and invoices exist for environmental services and that leftover funds from a previous sale-of-assets reserve could be used to cover certain fees. He said any further draws on capital lines would be reported to the council before money is spent.

The council approved the contract on a roll-call vote. The resolution (Res. 25-304) confirms award of the base contract and documents the funding accounts that will be used to pay initial project costs and professional fees.