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Towanda council re-bids YMCA expansion project
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Review Photo/JAMES LOEWENSTEIN Towanda Borough Manager Tom Fairchild Jr., standing at left, speaks at the Towanda Borough Council meeting on Monday.
BY JAMES LOEWENSTEIN
TOWANDA - The Towanda Borough Council on Monday voted to rebid a project to expand and renovate the YMCA building on College Avenue.
When the project was bid out last summer, the bids came in over budget, so the project has since been scaled back, said Tom Fairchild Jr., Towanda Borough manager.
The project includes renovations to the building's two west wings and had originally included a 2,000 square-foot addition.
"The 2,000 square-foot addition has been reduced to 1,500 square feet," Fairchild said, describing the how the plans have changed. "A lot of glass has been removed (from the plans). The heating system has been redesigned and ... simplified."
"Hopefully we can bring (the project) within budget," he said.
When the project was bid out last summer, the low bid was 90 percent higher than the architect's $378,000 estimate of the construction cost of the project, Fairchild said.
The project is intended to create more usable space for the Bradford County YMCA to conduct its programs in the building, which is owned by the borough.
âWhile the project has been scaled back, it has been redesigned to accommodate future expansions of the building, Fairchild said.
"I think the idea is that we'll start out (with a project) we can afford to do and we'll build upon it" at a later date, said Mark Christini, vice-president of the borough council.
While no definite date has been set for when the bids will be opened, the bid opening will occur before the end of 2009, Fairchild said.
The only council member to vote against bidding out the project was Bob McLinko, who argued that the borough should not rush into a project like this when the YMCA has not signed a lease extension to use the building.
The borough is currently working on the terms of a lease extension with the YMCA.
McLinko also criticized the arrangement that the borough has with the YMCA, since the Y has not been paying rent or utilities for its use of the building.
But, council member Paul Sweitzer said the Y has secured grants to improve the building.
"The Y has brought $100,000 in grants to the table," he said.
And Christini said the borough has saved thousands of dollars by having the Y run the swimming pool on the premises.
James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or e-mail: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com.
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