Plainsboro should be able to move forward with plans for a new library once the Township Committee awards a bid for the project, which township officials are hopeful will take place during the next committee meeting on Wednesday, November 7.##M:[more]##
Mayor Peter Cantu says the committee is still reviewing the bids it received for the $15.55 million project to make sure they are all in order.
According to Township Administrator Bob Sheehan, the township received 10 bids for the project ranging from $11,”870,”000 to $16,”337,”107.
Cantu said at least four to five of the bids fell in the range of the township’s estimated cost analysis for the project. Officials, however, want to make sure that before they award the bid, there are no issues or problems, he said.
In August, the Township Committee approved a bond ordinance appropriating $15.55 million to pay for the overall cost of the project, and the issuance of $13.93 million in bonds. The estimated cost of actual construction is $12.4 million. Additional costs covered by the bond ordinance include furnishings, technology, security, and professionals. Bid specifications went out in September, and bids opened on October 11.
The library, designed by Manhattan-based BKSK Architects and Library Director Jinny Baeckler, will be a three-story, 34,”000-square foot building located in the heart of the new Village Center.
Sheehan said the successful bidder, once awarded, will complete the necessary paperwork and start to mobilize its employees and equipment.
“It takes a month or two to get going,” Sheehan said. “We’re going to hopefully get after it very quickly. We’re going to obviously hope for a mild winter.”
As long as construction begins in early 2008, he said, the township is still anticipating opening the library in 2009.
“Once we get this bid squared away and awarded, then we’ll be excited,” Sheehan said. “It’s been a lot of work over a period of time, and we’re hoping that we’ll have this thing going soon.”
In the meantime, Sheehan said there are a host of requests out to various foundations, asking them to donate funds for the project.
So far, about $1.5 million has been raised for the project, and “we’re hopeful that there more to come,” said Sheehan. “We’re determined to hit $2 million.”
