The Hanover Area School District Board of Education on Jan. 13 approved Hadley Construction as the demolition contractor for the Hanover Area Elementary Center and voted to hire Brian Kelly & Associates as the district auditor.

Superintendent explained the low demolition bid came in about $100,000 under the project budget and recommended approval of Hadley Construction for the bid amount of $1,108,133.94, contingent on review by the district solicitor. A board member asked whether the bid matched the budget; the superintendent replied that it did and estimated the underage at roughly $100,000. The board moved, took a roll-call vote and approved the contract recommendation.

The board also approved Brian Kelly & Associates as the district auditor for an annual fee of $41,000 after a separate motion. During that discussion a board member noted the district currently lacks a full-time business manager; the auditor contract passed on roll call.

Carl Kaufman, the construction manager for the elementary project, told the board the demolition bid process received six bids and that demolition work is planned to start in mid-February and run about three months. "The low demolition bid did come in under budget," Kaufman said during his summary of the bids.

The motions passed by recorded roll call without recorded objections to the recommendations. Both approvals are subject to the usual contracting reviews and preconditions: the demolition contract is pending solicitor review; the auditor contract will be implemented under standard district procedures.