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Bids come in low for O'Shanter project
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
By Jeff Corcino Staff Writer
The construction bids for the O'Shanter water line project came in substantially lower than expected.
The Lawrence Township Board of Supervisors opened bids for the water line project at its meeting yesterday and the apparent low bid of the 15 bids submitted was $584,276 by DJ Wisor & Sons of West Decatur.
The township had allocated approximately $900,000 toward the project, including engineering fees. The township is financing the project with a $500,000 competitive Community Development Block Grant as well as the township's yearly CDBG allocation, according to township Secretary Barbara Shaffner.
Since the bids came in low, Shaffner said the township will be able to reallocate the remaining CDBG funds to other projects in the township.
It will be up to the supervisors which projects the funds would be used for, Shaffner said.
The supervisors voted to authorize the township's engineer Stiffler McGraw & Associates of Hollidaysburg to award the bid to the lowest responsible bidder.
Lawrence Township is extending a water line in O'Shanter approximately two miles from Polles Road to the Lawrence Township/Knox Township line.
The new waterline will serve approximately 47-48 homes, many of which have poor water service.
Construction on the project is expected to begin early next year, weather permitting.
Once completed, the water line would be turned over to the Pike Township Water Authority.
In other business: - the supervisors voted to approve an agreement with DuBois City to use the township's code enforcement officer, Zachary Lawhead, on a part-time basis. DuBois City will pay the township $25 per hour for his services plus travel expenses, and he would likely work in DuBois two days a week.
DuBois City currently does not have a code enforcement officer and has been using a part-time police officer instead. However, Zachary Lawhead will be helping the city set up its own office and possibly train a new code enforcement officer.
Supervisor William Lawhead said the arrangement will not inconvenience the township because it will be during the slow time of the year, and the arrangement is revenue neutral for the township and it will neither gain nor lose money from the arrangement. - several representatives of the engineering firm Gwin Dobson & Foreman Inc. of Altoona announced that construction on the new Northeastern ITS Fiber Optic Cable is expected to begin next month. Northeastern ITS is constructing a high bandwidth fiber optic cable across the state and will be coming through Lawrence Township.
Door hangers will be used to notify the residents who will be affected by the construction. The hangers will include information on the length and scope of the construction activity and a hotline, 1-888-821-1598, for any questions. The company will be performing a full restoration on all affected property.
Fiber optic cables are high-speed transmission lines for communication systems such as Internet, television and telephone. - Point Spring Driveshaft on Industrial Park Road requested a waiver of the setback requirements to allow it to construct a new addition to its plant.
The new addition will be in the back of the property and shouldn't affect any surrounding properties because the property is bordered by a high bank, William Lawhead said.
Zachary Lawhead said no plans had yet been submitted but he said it appears to be a substantial new addition roughly the same size as its current building.
However, Solicitor James Naddeo said the supervisors cannot grant the waiver, saying the request is actually variance to the zoning ordinance and has to go before the zoning hearing board for approval. - the supervisors awarded the bid for a tax anticipation loan to Northwest Savings Bank for $400,000 at 2.25 percent interest.
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