Bids for Carbon County storage building come in higher than estimates

Figures for the construction of a storage building for Carbon County equipment came in significantly higher than officials estimated.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners opened bids for the new 160-by-45-foot storage building, which will be located at the farthest end of the county-owned parking lot beyond the new Route 903 bridge.

The combined lowest bids came in at $651,120, submitted by F.J. Lesher General Contractor of Palmerton, who submitted a bid of $592,000 for general construction; and Larry McCullion & Son of Summit Hill, who bid $59,120 for electrical construction.

A total of 10 companies bid for the two contracts. Bids for general construction ranged from $592,000 to $786,551; while bids for electrical construction ranged from $59,120 to $106,000. The bids were then tabled for two weeks so they could be reviewed.

Commissioner William O’Gurek said that when the county did its bond issue in 2016, officials set aside $340,000 for the project based on estimates at that time.

He pointed out that the county has about $9 million in its capital projects fund for projects such as this, adding that of that amount $2 million is earmarked for the new fire training facility project and $4.7 million for constructing a new office building on Susquehanna Street at the site of the former archives building.

“These projects are setting the stage for the future,” O’Gurek said. “It’s something we really need to do.”

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein added that all of this is needed because the county is out of space.

“There is nowhere to put anyone anymore. They’re going to be sitting on each other’s laps,” Nothstein said. “We’re really in a bind.”

“Here’s the problem,” O’Gurek added. “We are in 2018 functioning in a building (courthouse) that was built in 1850.”

Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said that the new storage facility will be good because all of the county’s equipment, which is currently housed at various locations, will be able to be all under one roof in a centralized location.

In a related matter, the commissioners voted to authorize the advertisement to accept bids for courthouse slate roof repairs. O’Gurek abstained from the vote.

The last time the roof was repaired was in 2008.