Rec Center Project $100K Under Budget

Township officials made the latest update on the Church Street Recreation Center improvement project sound like a win-win:

The township will be able to make a whole host of upgrades and improvements to the center, while keeping the project more than $100,000 under budget.

In order to get there, several less-necessary enhancements had to be excised from the project. But architect Rick Ragan said the township is still getting a lot of bang for its buck.

The township received six bids for the project last week, ranging from $647,000 to $769,000 for the base bids. Once the add-ins were removed, the prices dropped from $580,750 to $720,000, he said.

Though council did not officially take action Monday, Ragan said he was recommending the $580,750 low bid. Included in that bid are the following improvements to the rec center:

• New gym floor
• New paint for the exterior of the building
• New gym doors
• A new reception office (on the first floor)
• An office for a police officer (on the third floor)
• Asbestos removal
• New restrooms
• Communication and security system
• New HVAC
• Pipe repair

The following improvements were removed: new gym lights, a new roof, new paint job for the interior of the building and new ceiling tiles. However, Ragan said these could be easily done at some point in the future.

According to Carew and Councilman Greg Newcomer, the township had budgeted approximately $690,000 for the project.

Asked whether he was satisfied with the recommendation from Ragan, including the removal of the four improvements, Carew said, “We have a finite amount of money to work with, so yes.”

Ragan said the gym would likely have to be shut down in July and August while improvements were underway.