Following a closed session meeting and a public vote Monday night, Cranford officials voted on two matter related to the renovation of the flood-damaged municipal building.
"The Township Committee voted as a consent agenda item to award the contract for the Municipal Building repairs, renovations and alterations to the lowest fully responsive bidder, which was W.D. Snyder Co., Inc. for $1,870,000," Deputy Mayor Andis Kalnins said.
The lower level of town hall sustained substantial damage when Hurricane Irene tore through the area 11 months ago, causing significant flooding. The trailers behind the Cranford Municipal Building continue to serve as a reminder of the damage that the storm left in its wake. Township officials have devised plans to make sure the trailers don't become permanent office space for the displaced employess whose offices were destroyed by the flood.
Several months ago, members of the Municipal Building Task Force as a result of the flooding, which damaged the entire lower level of the 50-year-old structure on Springfield Avenue.
In addition to voting on the contract to renovate town hall, commissioners also decided against "clerk of the works for municipal building reconstruction." The clerk of the works would have monitored the renovations and repairs to the existing municipal building and would have been under contract with the township from July 18 to Dec. 31.
Instead of creating this new position, officials will hand over the supervision of the renovations to municipal employees.
"The Township Committee chose not to issue a contract for the Clerk of the Works for the Municipal Building Reconstruction. The inspection of work will be handled by the Municipal Staff per the standard contractual requirements," Kalnins said.
The discussion during the governing body's closed session meeting also included a legal matter in connection with litigation entitled, "CDA v. Township of Cranford” and a personnel matter, according to the clerk's meeting notice. The lawsuit involves Cranford Development Associates - an LLC of the S. Hekemian Group, developer of the property. No public vote was taken following this discussion.
