A judge ruled this week that construction bids for the Hamilton Street amphitheater must be re-bid.
Redevelopment Director and City Administrator Peter Pelissier said there was some ambiguity about some portions of the lowest bid, which was rejected, and so the judge felt it should be re-bid.
Opening of new bids is scheduled for Dec. 15 and is scheduled to be awarded at the Dec. 22 Redevelopment Agency meeting.
Groundbreaking could occur as early as mid-January, according to City Engineer James Housten.
The Redevelopment Agency awarded a $4.95-million construction bid last month to Rahway-based Berto Construction, however, Kenilworth-based W.D. Snyder Company had the lowest base bid at $4.65 million but it was rejected as a “deficient bid proposal” for a “material breach.”
The facility originally was anticipated to open in May and be ready for use in July, said Pelissier, adding that the timeline could still be feasible.
For those interested in a district-by-district breakdown of Tuesday’s election, here they are in a Google spreadsheet. Democrats carried about 60 percent of the vote in local races, with Rick Proctor carrying 16 of 24 districts for mayor against Pat Cassio, who carried the 3rd and 6th wards. Turnout was about 48 percent.
Let's say all bids are the same after the rebid and the town chooses the same winner. Then what? Either there was a valid reason that the winner was chosen or the lower bidder should have won. I don't understand the point of a re-vote except to waste time.I don't know if Democrats consistently having control of this town with little opposition to their agenda is a good thing. As a registered independent, I voted Republican if anything to bring a different mindset to the table and to stem political corruption. I hope I'm wrong.