CREST HAVEN – Lower Township Public Safety Building, once at the center of heated political debates in that municipality, will be renovated by the county under a $5.1-million contract awarded June 28 to Arthur J. Ogren Inc. of Vineland.
When completed, the building will house the Cape May County Office of Emergency Management’s central dispatch center. It will continue to share the building with Lower Township police and rescue squad.
Ann Marie McMahon, director of Facilities and Services, told the board there had been six bids received for the project. The bids ranged from $4.5 million to $5.2 million.
She said the project was originally estimated to cost about $4.2 million. An additional $2 million was added for infrastructure upgrades, she said. There is a project labor agreement in the contract. That is when the government awards contracts for public construction projects exclusively to unionized firms. An extra $525,000 was added for consoles and furniture, McMahon said.
“We are still shooting for October,” to begin the work, she said.
Lower Township’s portion of the project will be “about $2 million,” said McMahon, while the county will fund about $3 million.
McMahon noted that the infrastructure upgrades would be borne by municipalities as they join the central dispatch, that way, Lower Township will not be burdened by the full cost of the upgrades.
“Both the township and the county saved about $3 million each on this project,” said Director Gerald Thornton.
Ogren will have one year to complete the project, McMahon said.
Avalon – This economy is tough for everyone. Think I might have to sell my beach house! A good problem, but still forced.
