Project Bids Delayed Two Weeks For High School Renovations

Candace Braun

The opening of bids for the Princeton High School construction and renovation project have been delayed for two weeks, until October 1, said Superintendent Claire Sheff Kohn.

The decision was made late Friday, September 12 when no bids had been submitted and contractors requested the deadline be extended.

Dr. Kohn said that the contractors didn't explain why they hadn't submitted their bids. "[The contractors] weren't specific, but my assumption is that it's a large project and they needed extra time," said Dr. Kohn.

The construction project was put out to bid on Wednesday, July 30 by the Princeton Regional Board of Education. Bids were due back from contractors on September 17 and would be reviewed by the Board of Education's Facilities Committee this Friday. A contract was to be awarded at the Board's meeting on September 23. Now, with the delay, bids will not be opened until October 1 at 2 p.m. A contract will be awarded once the architect has reviewed the plans and will be announced at a special board meeting in early October, said Business Administration Board Secretary Stephanie Kennedy.

The PHS construction and renovation plan is part of the $81.3 million, multi-year project. Last October the School Board withdrew the PHS project from bidding and rejected all first-round bids for projects at the other five schools. A second round of bids was opened in December for all the schools. While the elementary school project bids were under budget, the middle school bids exceeded the districts budget by $1 million, and the high school, which received only one bid, was roughly $14 million over budget.

Elementary and middle school bids were awarded to contractors in January, but the high school project was reworked. "We redesigned the whole project for something that's in our budget," said Dr. Kohn. "[The new plan] has more renovations and less construction."

Dr. Kohn said she believes one of the reasons the first bid for the PHS project was so high was because there wasn't any competition. "A lot of projects were being bid [at that time]."

The superintendent said she now anticipates more bids since the plan has changed to include less construction and more renovations on existing facilities. She said some private contractors that normally don't work with public projects have shown an inte- rest. "Now people not ¬usually interested in the public sector are interested because of the the economy," said Dr. Kohn.

There have also been delays in completing other projects at the high school. A restraining order was filed by LandTek Group of Amityville, N.Y. in May to block the installation of an artificial surface on the PHS football field. LandTek, an unsuccessful bidder on the project, believed American Athletic Court, the contractor hired for the job, did not meet bid specifications. The temporary restraining order was lifted in early August.

However it appears that may not be enough time to complete the field before the first football game this weekend. Alternatives are currently being looked into by the district, including playing the game against Lawrence- ville High School at Princeton Day School. A decision will be made this Wednesday.

As for the PHS project, Dr. Kohn said she has a positive outlook on the plan, and she hopes to see many bids that will be within the district's budget this time around. "We're going to see what we can get," said Dr. Kohn. "We're hoping we'll be under budget."