The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to award the construction job to a Freehold firm that agreed to build the facility for just under $4 million.
Precise Construction was among 11 bidders on the project. Bids were received April 25, and Precise was the lowest, agreeing to perform the work for an amount not to exceed $3,975,830.
"We had a large number of bidders, which we were happy about," said City Business Administrator Howard H. Woolley Jr. Officials had predicted there would be substantial interest in the project due to a lack of the lack of construction jobs right now.
The park, which will be home to the lion's share of the city's athletic fields, is in the city's north end. It is bounded by the creek and Long Branch Avenue to the east, Airsdale Avenue to the south, Narragansett Avenue to the west and Bay Avenue to the north.
The athletic fields are a critical need in the city, because as an urban area, there is little space available on which to construct athletic facilities. In addition, after the school system embarked on a major expansion program some five years ago, many of its fields and courts were rendered unavailable for recreational purposes.
The Project has been on the Planning Board agenda in various forms for more than five decades but shifted into high gear in 2002 when Mayor Adam Schneider directed Jacob L. Jones, the city’s director of community and economic development, and Carl Turner, the city’s assistant planning director, to explore with the state what aid might be available to help bring the park to fruition.
“To get to this point was quite a challenge,” Jones admitted. It was one of the few jobs the city has bidded recently to come in under the allocated amount, said Kevin J. Hayes Sr., the city’s director of Building and Development.
The state’s Green Acres program will provide $1,010,333.50 while another grand – in the amount of $6,438.99 – came in from the state Department of Community Affairs.
The bid amount was good news to City Council President Michael DeStefano and Councilman David G. Brown because the council had agreed to phase in the project over several years to keep costs down.
New, residents will get a completed park a year after construction begins.
Last fall, the council approved a $2.6 million bond ordinance, authorizing $2.48 million in bond anticipation notes to pay the cost of the 22-acre park, which will include two soccer fields, a football field, a softball field, two Little League fields, four tennis courts and two basketball courts. The athletic fields are a critical need in the city, because as an urban area, there is little space available on which to construct athletic facilities.
DW Smith
www.DWSmith.com
149 Yellowbrook Road, Suite 101
Farmingdale, NJ
