Having rejected a bid to replace the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system and roof at the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter last month after the lowest bid, at $2.32 million, came in well over an anticipated $1.2 million price tag, the East Hampton Town Board split the proposed job in two parts.
At its regular meeting last Thursday, the board announced that two new requests for proposals would be issued, one that day for the roof, and the other today for the HVAC replacement.
Both bids are due back by Feb. 16, and interested applicants are encouraged to attend a pre-bid meeting at the Y.M.C.A., at 2 Gingerbread Lane, on Wednesday at 11 a.m.
The town earmarked $1.2 million in its 2022 capital plan for repairs at the popular facility and would have authorized bonds for up to $330,000 for a new roof, and another $880,000 to replace the HVAC system. But persistent inflation, supply-chain problems, staff shortages, and fuel costs all played a role in the high bids.
Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez told The Star in late December, when the board moved to reject the first round of bids, that the town would be working with its engineers to see if they could do some “value engineering” and “reduce the scope of the two projects.”