File/The Tasca home on the corner of Amherst and Clermont avenues sits atop steel beams.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE The Board of Commissioners Thursday, Dec. 16 approved several maintenance and professional contracts and agreed to go out to bid to remodel the Municipal Building on Winchester and Union avenues. The city also announced a date has been set for mediation in a legal suit resulting from a faulty road construction project that damaged several residential properties.
The city approved contracts for Animal Control of South Jersey to provide animal control services totaling $8,700 a year; Able Cleaning Agency to clean several municipal facilities totaling $63,186; and Brightview Landscapes, LLC for landscape maintenance at several public properties totaling $126,540.
Among the professional services contracts awarded are $36,000 for Ford-Scott Associates, LLC of Ocean City to provide auditing and budgeting assistance, and $75,000 for Barker, Gelfand, James and Sarvas, PC to provide litigation legal services and $18,000 for employment law services.
The board approved a contract totaling $243,648 for Mobile Dredging and Video Pipe, Inc. to clean and televise in-ground sewer systems; and a $45,599 one-year contract for CM3 Building Solutions, Inc. for HVAC service and maintenance.
It also authorized a contract for Coronis Health RCM, LLC of Morganville to provide ambulance billing services at a rate of 7% of the amounts collected not to exceed $25,000. The company will bill users' insurance companies for ambulance services provided by the Margate City Fire Department. The company will not be permitted to bill residents who do not have adequate insurance for ambulance services, officials said.
The board also approved two contracts totaling $67,650 to replace and repair network cables on the first floor of the Margate Municipal Building. The board also agreed to go out to bid for an estimated $1.96 million in upgrades to the Municipal Building. Work includes reconfiguring the tax and finance office, new lighting, flooring, installation of bulletproof transaction windows, renovating the corridor, installation of new wall coverings, ceilings, a set of doors to break up the long look of the corridor, a dehumidification system, reconstructing the vestibule, Americans With Disabilities Act improvements, electric doors, video cameras, asbestos abatement, exterior lighting, façade improvements, new furnishings and general cleanup after the work is completed.
According to engineer Ed Dennis Jr. of Remington & Vernick, the bids will be advertised on Jan. 4, 2022 for a bid opening on Jan. 27 in the multi-purpose room at the Municipal Building. Officials anticipate the work will be done in spring and summer, barring any delays in delivery of materials.
It also agreed to purchase a 2022 Ford Utility Interceptor vehicle for the Police Department totaling $34,026.
In other business, solicitor John Scott Abbott said the city would enter mediation with Mathis Construction on Jan. 25 regarding a road reconstruction project that damaged several homes on Amherst Avenue and the surrounding area. Retired Superior Court Judge Marc Baldwin will hear the case.
According to Administrator Richard Deaney, there are 16 homeowners claiming their homes were damaged when the contractor conducted a dewatering process that caused the ground to collapse.
Some have not processed a claim with their own insurance company, Abbott said.
Commissioner Maury Blumberg said some property owners may be reluctant to file a claim in fears their insurance rates will go up.
Several homeowners who are represented by attorneys have been attending commission meetings to pressure the city to get their homes repaired. One home in particular was knocked off its foundation and is sitting atop steel beams.
Hopefully, there will be progress from the mediation, Abbott said.
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