Politics & Government
Field Improvement Bids $670K Cheaper Than Estimates
Low bids for the township's three field improvement projects came in 20 percent lower than the engineer's estimates, according to officials involved with the project.
Bids for the township’s recreation fields revamp—formerly known as the K.I.D.S. Initiative—came in more than 20 percent below an engineer’s estimate of the project cost.
The combined low bids for field improvements to , and came in last week at $2.3 million, $671,000 less than the initial $3 million estimate provided by township engineer the Alaimo Group, according to Kevin Loftus, , who helped design the scope of the project.
“We expected the bids to be below the engineer’s estimate,” said Loftus, now a member of the township’s Open Space Committee. “But to have the bids come in 22 to 29 percent below the engineer is just extraordinary.”
The bids are still technically unofficial until they have been certified by the township. The numbers Loftus used for his calculations are for the base bid price and do not include the alternate bid specifications for the projects.
Loftus explained engineers, when providing estimates, have to account for certain contingencies and are somewhat conservative, so bidders often do beat the estimates. But usually only by 5-10 percent—not 20.
Loftus, along with township manager Scott Carew, attributed the marked disparity primarily to the woeful state of the construction industry in today’s economy. Loftus, who owns a construction company in Cinnaminson, said contractors “are absolutely dying. There’s not enough work and too many contractors.”
Four or five years ago, when business was better, the bids would have come back at or only slightly below the estimates, he said. “Thats a fact … Guys are taking the work at cost.”
Loftus also praised Carew for “twisting the scope of the project” to make it more cost-effective.
“We tried to make the project as efficient as possible ... take away some of the bells and whistles,” Carew explained simply.
The field improvement projects , so the township can elect to bundle all three together or do them individually—or not at all. The projects include upgrades to Wesley Bishop North (new turf field, parking improvements), Wesley Bishop South (irrigation and refurbishment of the grass field, fencing), and Pryor Park (drainage improvements, new lights).
The township is in the process of laying out a funding plan for the projects—again, assuming council decides to carry them out—that would include contributions from some of the athletic clubs in town, as well as (e.g. field naming rights), according to Carew.
The township also received bids last week for at Pryor, and parks at $135,000 below the engineer’s estimate.
To view the individual bids for each project, visit the township website.
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