East Ave. bridge at a standstill
By John Zornow

No East Ave. bridge bids have been awarded, and the construction season ticks away. Prospective contractors submitted their bids for rehabilitation of the condemned bridge. Five bids were received, but one coming in too late for consideration. Amounts are as follows:

• M.A. Bongiovanni $833,373 (Currently doing Clinton St. job.)
• A.L. Blades and Son $764,55
• Vector Construction $718,480
• Bell/Ramsey $781,756

The village board is faced with this problem: An earlier resolution passed by the board stipulated that the total cost of the bridge INCLUDING engineering costs, and a 10% contingency buffer, must NOT exceed $800,000.

At their monthly meeting on Tuesday, the board chose not to deal with the issue in the absence of a vacationing Mayor Fred Pirelli.

Possible options available to the board are :

• Go for rebid
• Eliminate the 10% contingency clause
• Come up with the difference with money from general funds
• Ask the State DOT to perform somes parts of project (ex. sandblasting) in an effort to lower costs.
• Drop the project. (Some feel that this option would not sit well with those such as Senator Nozzolio who helped the village obtain the $800,000 grant.)

A meeting is scheduled for August 3 at 4 p.m. with Labella Engineers to try to come up with solutions to the bridge issue.

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