A second round of bids on the Hunterdon Central Regional High School's fitness center was rejected as too high. Now the board will seek a contract directly.
RARITAN TWP. -- Two times now Hunterdon Central Regional High School has sought bids to construct a fitness center that its architect says should cost $1.9 million.
Both times bids have come back higher, and on Monday night the school board rejected the second round of bids. The lowest in the second round was for $2.1 million.
Following a 7-2 vote Monday night, the board will now seek to negotiate a contract for the project without competitive bids. That vote followed questions posed by board member Lori Blutfield, who began by asking, "Is this going to end up costing a lot more now?"
"We hope that by changing the construction period we might be able to capitalize on some off time for the contractors," responded Business Administrator Gymlyn Corbin, saying the intent is for the district to save some money.
Some question new $1.9M fitness center
The 6,700-square-foot fitness center would be used by gym classes during the school day and by athletes and other students after school, officials have said. The proposal drew criticism from some residents and support from others when it was discussed in February 2015.
In negotiating a new contract, the amount to be paid can't exceed what the board has budgeted for the project, Corbin confirmed to Blutfield, who then turned to her fellow board members and urged restraint.
"Hold off a couple months," she said. "The data is just not there to support this." She cited declining school enrollments throughout Hunterdon County and said, "there are very few days when we have 100 students signing in to the center now.
"Take a look at what our current capacity is, and let's see if there's anything we can do now to accommodate our current students and also meet our future needs."
She and Vincent Pannico cast the only votes against proceeding with contract negotiations.
Sallie Graziano may be reached at sgraziano@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SallieGraziano. Find NJ.com on Facebook.