Aug 8, 2006 By Steve Ferris 3 min read

CARMICHAELS – Borough council has not yet decided how it will go about purchasing a new borough building after rejecting all bids in July. Council President Chris Bates said Tuesday that solicitor Kirk A. King advised council to take no action toward a new building until he can review the matter when he returns from an out of town trip.

“We’re no closer than we were a month ago,” Bates said. “It’s just a matter of getting the detail worked out.”

Bates said he would rather proceed slowly than make bad deal for a new building.

In July, council rejected all four bids that were submitted in June because they did not meet the specifications, which called for a one-story, 1,200-square foot modular building.

Some sort of communication breakdown might have caused the bidders to submit bids that did not match the detailed specifications that were sent to them, Bates said.

The bids ranged from $58,100 to $110,549.

Bates said council has not yet decided if it will re-advertise for bids, try to work with the company that previously submitted the lowest bid or try a different approach.

Council has approximately $98,000 set aside for the building, which will be placed on a lot the borough owns on the town square.

Most of the borough’s money for the building is from a grant except for $15,300 from the budget.

Councilman Ralph McWilliams asked if council has considered buying a vacant building next to the borough’s lot?

Bates said he talked to the property owner and learned the price was more than the borough can afford. The building would also have to be renovated, adding to the cost, he said.

“It’s way out of our price range,” Bates said, adding that he did not know if the grant contains provisions that would not allow the borough to buy an existing building.

Council Vice President John Paletta said he wants the building to be constructed this year.

In unrelated business, McWilliams said speeding traffic is a problem in the borough and he made a motion to buy and install “watch children” signs on every street in the borough. He said each sign would cost $65.

The motion failed due to lack of a second.

Bates said there has not been a vehicle-versus-pedestrian accident in the three years he has served on council.

He also said he doubts watch children signs would cause drivers, who break the posted speed limit, to slow down.