Weatherly to modify building plan after bids come in over budget again

Weatherly Borough Council will modify its building plan after bids came in over budget for a second time.

The borough has proposed building a new borough hall and police station on the former Tung-Sol property off of West Main Street in the borough. Carbon County is also planning to build a new office for Magisterial District Judge Joseph Homanko.

Council has advertised looking for bids twice in the past year, but both times bids came in over budget.

The second time, they agreed to advertise in the Allentown and Wilkes-Barre markets looking for contractors, but bids were still more than council was willing to pay.

Council agreed at the meeting Monday night that they would stick to their $2 million budget for the project. They voted to not use any additional taxpayer money to complete the project outside of the $2 million in grants that they have assembled over the past few years.

Council also voted to have the site plan for the project redone so that the buildings are located as close to West Main Street as possible.

The plan previously called for buildings to be set back near the Black Creek, served by a long driveway.

Mayor Tom Connors said he believes changing the site plan could lead to bids that are more in line with the township’s budget.

“I’d like to see council agree on that, so when (the engineers) make the new plans, they plan for those buildings up front, closer to the front, which is going to be less for us as far as site work,” Connors said.

Councilmember Harold Farrow voted against the idea. He said he was concerned that the new site plan would limit the amount of parking available.

Connors said he asked council to limit the cost of the project to $2 million because he thinks it is more than enough to complete the project. He doesn’t want to see council take out loans to complete the work.

“I think we should stick to the amount of money we have, and be thankful that we have it,” Connors said.

Connors said the borough’s engineer should have an updated design for the project next month, so the borough can put it out for bids for a third time.