By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE Spring has sprung and it's time for backhoes, pavers and other heavy equipment to start upgrading city roads and properties with the hopes the projects will be completed by summer or at the latest in fall.
The Board of Commissioners Thursday, March 17 awarded three contracts totaling $2.4a million to improve the Margate City Library, Margate Municipal Building and for the city's 2021 road project. The board also accepted a bid for a beach vending license from a new ice cream vendor.
Asphalt Paving Systems, Inc. of Hammonton was awarded a $1,417,700 contract to pave a portion of Winchester Avenue at Clermont and Mansfield avenues and Brunswick Court. The company was the lowest of six bids received, with the highest bid coming in at more than $1.7 million. According to city engineer Ed Dennis Jr. of Remington & Vernick Engineers, the road project will be completed in two phases, with two-thirds of the work done in spring and the final third completed in fall. The project is being funded through two bonds approved in early 2021.
The city also awarded a $715,000 contract to R. Maxwell Construction Company of Pleasantville to complete interior renovations in the Municipal Building, which previously served as the Union Avenue School. The work includes renovations to the Tax and Finance offices. Employees will be temporarily relocated to a set-up in the multi-purpose room by the end of March where they will work until the project is completed and can move back into their refurbished offices. According to Systems Analyst Fred Verna, the work will start in April.
Upgrading the first floor public spaces will ensure the safety of employees and the public, officials said. Work includes 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 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.
Maxwell was the lowest responsible bidder of seven bids received, with the highest bid coming in at $823,000. Dennis said the city has scheduled a pre-construction meeting with the contractor to iron out details and schedules. It is likely the project will start in spring and continue through the summer months. The project is being funded through the city's 2022 bond ordinance approved last month.
City Clerk Johanna Casey said there is enough room in the multi-purpose room to host the Primary Election in June. It is likely that employees will have to contend with a little more noise than usual on Election Day, but the election will be successful, she said.
The third contract awarded will replace the rooftop HVAC units at the Margate City Public Library. Surety Mechanical Services of Williamstown was awarded a $292,500 contract to do the work. Two bids were received, with the second bid nearly $100,000 higher.
Although those projects will cost taxpayers, a fourth contract awarded March 17 will generate revenue to support beach operations from the sale of a license to sell ice cream on the beach during the next three summer seasons.
According to Zoning Officer Roger McLarnon, the contract awarded to WC Ice Cream, LLC of Wildwood will result in a substantial increase over the last ice cream vending contract, and has the potential to generate $285,000 over a three-year period.
Two bids were received on March 10. Last year's vendor, Oil Depot NJ, LLC did not bid enough to win the exclusive right to sell ice cream and other summer fun products on the beach.
McLarnon revised bid specifications this year to allow the city to award a contract for three years, with a contingency for incremental increases in 2023 and 2024.
WC Ice Cream agreed to pay the city $85,000 to vend ice cream for the 2022 season, $86,000 in 2023, and $87,000 in 2024. Oil Depot's bid was $50,000, $50,000 and $110,000.
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