Cold Spring board accepts $182,230 base bid for Fishkill, Mountain Avenue FEMA repairs

The Cold Spring village board voted May 11 to accept engineering consultant James J. Han's recommendation to award the base bid for the FEMA recovery work at Fishkill and Mountain avenues to Scape Tech Landscape Technology for $182,230 and authorized the mayor to execute contracts pending acceptable bonds and insurance.

The boardchair explained that the overall bid package returned higher than the village expected and that several alternates (sidewalk replacement and sewer lining) came in above budget. "The total base bid is 182,230," the chair said, and staff recommended accepting only the primary element now and rebidding the alternates to seek lower prices. The village engineer said some alternates could be completed more cheaply if contracted separately.

Trustees questioned what the base bid covers and how the alternates differ; staff answered that the alternates largely address sidewalks and ramps. The board also discussed funding options: the FEMA award is based on a 2023 estimate of storm damage, and staff said DOT confirmed that CHIPS funds may be used to cover the remaining overage. "But between FEMA and CHIPS, we can cover it," the chair said, describing the plan to pair FEMA reimbursement with CHIPS to avoid a new funding shortfall.

Staff outlined the reimbursement shares on the record: 75% of the originally estimated eligible cost is reimbursed by FEMA, 12.5% by New York State and 12.5% by the village; the balance of the actual bid amount beyond those shares would come from CHIPS. Trustees noted that spending CHIPS now may reduce the amount available for other paving projects in future seasons.

A trustee moved to accept Han's recommendation and to authorize the mayor to proceed with contracts pending bonds and insurance; the motion was seconded by Trustee Andrew and was carried. The board also recorded an intent to rebid selected alternates (sidewalks, sewer lining) to try to secure lower prices.

Next steps: staff will proceed with contract completion and submit documentation necessary for FEMA reimbursement; alternates will be rebid separately. The transcript does not record a full-name roll-call tally for the motion beyond noting that Trustee Laura had voted and that Trustee Tony had not yet cast a vote at the time of the roll call.