Malden committee approves $23,639 bid to remodel city fuel depot, will send to council

The Malden Building Code Committee voted to approve a $23,639 bid to remodel the city fuel depot and will present the proposal to the full City Council for final approval. Committee Member Dianna Rogers moved to accept the bid; Committee Member Bindy Grant seconded and the motion was recorded as carried 4–0.

City Administrator and Utility Director Jeff Mitchell said he has been seeking alternatives to demolishing the fuel depot, and Code Enforcement Officer John Johnson asked contractor Robert Cato — who is currently working on the old city hall — whether he would bid on the job. The submitted bid lists materials of $5,709 and labor of $17,930, for a total of $23,639.

The bid’s scope of work includes repairing and painting exterior walls; fixing a side wall and roofing where needed; repairing soffits and fascia; removing a rear lean-to; replacing an exterior steel door; cutting a block wall to install a 10-by-7-foot overhead door; removing unneeded electrical conduit; repairing lights in the back west room; and cleaning out debris (the contractor expects up to three large dumpsters, owner to provide). The committee did not alter the bid details at the meeting.

By approving the bid, the committee recommended that the council consider contracting with Robert Cato to carry out the remodel. The committee’s recorded vote on the motion was 4–0; the minutes do not record individual yes/no votes by member name. The next procedural step is full-Council review and approval before work can begin.