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Runnemede council weighs awarding $1.29 million field‑lighting package, directs staff to prepare bond ordinance
Summary
Council reviewed five bids for multi‑field lighting, with the low bidder’s base price at $738,900 and a full low‑bid package of $1.29 million. Members asked staff to prepare a capital (bond) ordinance and explore grants and donations to cover a roughly $300–$425K shortfall.
Runnemede Borough Council on Jan. 22 reviewed competitive bids for new lights on several municipal ball and soccer fields and directed staff to prepare a bond ordinance to cover the project shortfall.
The borough’s engineer recommended awarding to Janney Electric as the low bidder; the engineer read a base bid of $738,900 and a low‑bid package totaling about $1.29 million. Council members said the low bid represented substantial savings compared with other proposals (the next lowest total was described as roughly $1.712 million), but noted the borough would still be several hundred thousand dollars short of the estimated total.
Shelley, the borough CFO, told council the project could be financed by rolling a capital bond ordinance into the spring bond pool, and she outlined two practical options: award the base bid and defer alternates, or introduce a bond ordinance quickly and use the borough’s 20% change‑order allowance to cover base plus alternates. Councilors also agreed to pursue a $100,000 recreation grant to offset costs and to solicit donations from local organizations, with donated funds to be held in the borough’s recreation/trust accounts until used.
Councilors discussed phasing: the base bid covers the principal large fields (a large soccer field, a large girls’ softball field and a major baseball field), with alternates for the senior field and a second soccer field. Mr. Murray said he would like to see the borough try to complete all fields now rather than piecemeal later; Dan and Mr. White voiced support for moving forward if financing could be arranged.
No final borrowing ordinance was adopted at the meeting. Instead, council members instructed staff to prepare and introduce a bond (capital) ordinance at the next meeting, to seek the $100,000 grant for phase two, and to continue soliciting donations so work could proceed as funds permit. The engineer noted the contractor’s substantial‑completion schedule would likely allow the work to be finished in time for the fall season if awarded promptly.
Next steps: staff will prepare a capital (bond) ordinance for council introduction, pursue the identified grant, and return with a financing recommendation. Council asked that the procurement file and bid comparisons be provided to members before the next meeting.
