Successful bid winners have been announced for two Lewis County public sector construction projects.
The Lewis County Board of Legislators in Lowville in the northern New York county learned on Feb. 23 that, despite fears of supply chain inflation, the projects had come in within the $19.3 million budget range, NNY360 reported.
The work includes building a new Highway Department structure with multiple outposts and a complete gutting and renovation of the county offices on Outer Stowe Street where the Department of Social Services, Department of Community Services and Office for the Aging are housed.
“The contractors we chose are all reputable firms and have done good business,” county manager Ryan M. Piche said after the meeting. “Two of the firms are from Lewis County, which we’re particularly excited about. So far, everything is going along in a good way. I feel good about it and I think the legislators were happy to approve a project that came in under budget so far, something they’ve been considering for a long time.”
The five bid winners are:
- Bette & Cring LLC, Watertown, general construction contract, $10,889,000.
- ENI Mechanical Inc., Gouverneur, mechanical contract, $1,948,000.
- Tmachanical Inc., Glenfield, plumbing contract, $450,000.
- S.C. Spencer Electric Inc., Constableville, electrical contract, $2,120,000.
- Associated Fire Protection Corp., Syracuse, fire protectio, $492,840.
The total cost of the project based on the five awarded contracts will be about $15,909,840, the published report said. There were several competitors for each category excepting the fire protection contract.
Piche said he believes the bids came in so low in part because by sending out the bids for both sites — the highway garage and the human services departments — “companies will be able to keep their crews consistently busy but also they can pull the crew off for other jobs while the subs are doing some work, so, it’s just consistent good work.”
“I think that (engineers) C&S and KT, our construction managers, put together a good packet and made it attractive for all the bidders that put forward numbers,” he was quoted as saying.
C&S Engineers based in Syracuse designed the buildings and worked with the relevant departments regarding interior design. C&S recommended ROI Office Interior, based in Rome to be selected for this work with a $402,000 bid and a total anticipated budget of $550,000.
Construction will begin first on the Highway Department structures at 7600 N. State St. in April and at the 5274 Outer Stowe St. building late this summer. The work is expected to be completed by September 2023.
