By Kate E. Salute
Triton Construction, the company overseeing the building's construction, has over the past few months reviewed the bids for the library's five contracts - general construction, heating and ventilation, electrical, plumbing and fire protection. The bidding recently came to an end, and four of the five contracts were awarded.
"We only awarded four of the five contracts because we weren't satisfied with the lowest bid for the electrical contract," said Ralph Reissman, library board president. "Triton had interviewed them, and we weren't sure that they were clear with our specifications, so we wanted to be prudent in the matter, so we will have a re-bid for the electrical contract. It won't take more than two to three weeks to get the bids back in and awarded, there should be no delays."
Chris Pearson, Triton's project manager, said, "There seemed to be inconsistencies in the bid. I think there were things that should be cleared up because you have people bidding differently - apples to oranges. I feel more comfortable when I know that the bidders are bidding [on the same plain]. If we clear up the bid, we'll receive bids that are more apples to apples - consistent."
Triton will have access to the site starting Jan. 21.
"We can't necessarily call it a groundbreaking," Reissman said, "because I would think first they would fence off the area or something like that and then arrange for the demolition."
"Generally, the first thing we do is cut off the power and utilities to the building, followed by the abatement that has to be done, followed by the demolition of the existing buildings, and then there are areas in the soil that require soil remediation," Pearson explained matter-of-factly. "That gets done, and then you basically have a clean and level site and can start building the building."
"So we can call it the kickoff of the main construction work, now that the planning is done," Reissman added.
The first step, nearly six years ago, was finding the perfect, central location to accommodate the West Hempstead reading public. The original plan located the library near the infamous Courtesy Hotel at the intersection of Hempstead Avenue and Woodfield Road, the spot where currently houses a storage facility.
The location and the budget, voted on by West Hempstead residents, were defeated in 2001. Regina Mascia, library director, said she thought the main problem at the time was the location. "But it was a vacant piece of property - it didn't require eminent domain," she said. "At the time it was a parking lot, and we thought that might be the easiest way to go so we wouldn't have to put anybody out."
After the no vote, the frustrated board regrouped and found a new location, 504 Hempstead Ave., which the public voted in favor of in 2003. The new site "is right off of Locust Street, where the gas station and strip mall are," said Reissman.
If construction keeps to an optimistic 15-month schedule, it will be done by spring 2007. "That's ideal, in an ideal world," said Reissman. "But we plan for the best and prepare for the worst. Though we would really like to stick to the schedule, sometimes things happen."
Pearson's estimated groundbreaking date is mid- to late February though it is hard to know for sure with the winter weather. "I think we're off to a good start," he said. "It's hard starting in the middle of winter - the scheduling is hard to dictate at times - but we're excited to get going."
Comments about this story? KSalute@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext\. 205.
