The Township Council voted unanimously to reject the eight bids it received for work related to the reconstruction of the school house and wagon house located at the Schenck Farm on Southfield Road.
According to township officials, the two lowest bids — from Kunzman Construction and Dell-Tech Inc. — were both found to be “non-responsive” — because they both failed to acknowledge receiving an addendum to the original bid specifications. The rest of the bids exceeded the township’s budget for the project.
Councilman Charles Morgan asked whether the failure to acknowledge the addendum really had to be a deal-breaker. Township Attorney Michael Herbert said that acknowledgement of the addendum is considered under law to be a “material condition.”
“It’s a shame the only barrier is a failure of acknowledgement,” said Morgan, who said he wanted to see the project move forward.
Business Administrator Robert Hary said it would take 45 days to re-bid the project.
West Windsor is rounding the corner in its efforts to renew the historical landmark in the heart of the township. “We have the money, and we want to make sure we get this resolved as soon as possible,” said Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh. “The Schenck farm will potentially be another public place the residents can enjoy and use for recreation and community events.”
The Township Council approved two contracts in October for the interior fit-out of the artifacts room in the barn on the site, as well as for the construction of foundations for the school house and wagon house and for framing of the wagon house.
The bids were for installation of the sheeting and roof, as well as a door, for the wagon house. Once that work is done, the only remaining work will be the construction of restroom facilities on site.
Set back from Southfield Road, the Schenck Farmstead is buffered by the surrounding cornfields and rows of trees and shrubbery. The council endorsed a Master Plan for the farmstead in 2008.
The site’s structures date from approximately the 1740s to the early 1900s, and officials have hoped it would serve as a tool for educating residents about the town’s agricultural roots, as well as serve as the home base for the township’s historical society. The three structures on site — the Dutch-English barn, the carriage/wagon house, and the school house — complement the main house, which now serves as the historical society’s home.
The restoration project began in 1991, when the land and its structures were donated to the township by West Windsor land baron Max Zaitz. Officials have been working on its restoration ever since. The plan also allows for other historical structures to be located on site in the future. Some planned buildings include a windmill — already donated for the site — and a pump house.
