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Bathroom bids flushed
(by Erin Patricia Griffiths - June 17, 2008)
The Hillsdale School District has now twice rejected bids to repair the bathrooms at George G. White Middle School and will negotiate with a contractor on the cost of the repairs.
The bids received were significantly higher than the budget would allow – the lowest base bid was submitted by the Rici Corporation in the amount of $122,978, which would repair two of the four bathrooms in need of renovations. For the additional two bathrooms remaining, the proposed bid is in the amount of $134,500.
According to the board business administrator, Lirca Garcia, while the bathrooms are working efficiently, they are “in dire need of repair.” The rest of the building has been maintained over the years, but the bathrooms have not been significantly repaired since the school was first constructed between the years of 1921 and 1938. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires specific upgrades to comply with present-day building codes when repairs are made to the existing bathrooms.
If the district can afford it, all four bathrooms will be completely renovated. If negotiations only allow for two of the bathrooms to be redone, then the other two will remain as they are until funds can provide for their renovation.
Voters rejected the second question attached to the ballot of this year’s election requesting funds for the repairs. “It put us in a very difficult position,” Garcia said. “We needed that money to address the bathrooms.”
Negotiations on behalf of the board with the bidding company should be complete by the end of June.
Erin Patricia Griffiths' e-mail address is GriffithsE@northjersey.com.
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