City Council wants to see a couple more estimates on what it will cost to design repairs to the storm-damaged 29th Street firehouse.
Council voted unanimously Thursday to table a resolution that would have awarded a $92,350 contract to Czar Engineering of Egg Harbor Township to plan and administer construction of the building.
Superstorm Sandy flooded the station in October 2012, and firefighters have been using temporary trailers as living quarters since then. Plans call for the repairing the structure that houses trucks and equipment, then building a new adjacent living quarters.
Councilman Pete Guinosso asked that the resolution be pulled from the “consent agenda,” which is reserved for routine items that are considered in a batch.
He suggested the price seemed high and asked that Mayor Jay Gillian’s administration get other quotes to see if they come in at similar levels. As a professional service, engineering is not subject to the same sort of mandatory bidding process as other government contracts.
Business Administrator Mike Dattilo said he is confident that Czar’s estimate is fair, but that he would be happy to invite other firms to participate in a “competitive contract approach.”
Council members Scott Ping, Keith Hartzell and Mike DeVlieger each spoke in favor of seeking new estimates as an exercise in due diligence.
The project, estimated to cost as much as $750,000, would include pulling up the damaged concrete slab at the station and sinking helical piles to anchor a new surface. An elevated living quarters (to accommodate at least five firefighters) would be constructed to the south of the station and the two buildings would be connected.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse Ocean City for 90 percent of the project, but FEMA would not approve construction of an entirely new station.
