TOM SHORTELL
The Bradley Beach Board of Education hired a contractor for renovations to the science lab and kindergarten bathrooms during a special meeting Tuesday night.
The board awarded a $308,000 contract to APEX Enterprises of Union, Inc. Most of the renovations will be in the science lab.
Basically, theyre going to gut the whole room, said Wayne Turner, school superintendent.
The room will have new ceilings, floors, cabinets, tables with built-in sinks and a ventilation system with air conditioning. The contractors will also renovate the kindergarten bathroom and add a second one. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin June 23 and end before school begins in September, said David Tonsola, business administrator.
This is the second contract the board has awarded APEX a contract, which was the cheapest bid by $300, Turner said. APEX was the general contractor four years ago when the school was made more handicapped accessible.
Some of the funds for the renovations came from an old state-funded elevator project the board voted to liquidate. The elevator project ran cheaper than expected, and the district had an extra $22,800 when it was completed in 2004. Tonsola said hes had no success finding out if the school has to return the funds. I cant get a straight answer, he said. Two auditors have cleared the district to take the money, and Tonsola couldnt find a provision in the grant saying the district had to return any leftover funds.
The renovations will not include central air conditioning for the computer lab.
We had hoped because they (the computer lab and the science lab) were next to each other, we could get a … system that would service both of them, Turner said. The bids from the four construction companies came in between $46,000 and $50,000, which was nearly double the district architects original estimate.
The board also voted to change and add policies ranging from bus driver responsibilities to acceptable use of computer resources. The policy changes are for QSAC, the states school district monitoring system, which will monitor Bradley Beach next September. The board used suggestions from Strauss Esmay Associates LLP, a company that writes policy manuals for New Jersey school districts when changes are mandated by the state. When we could accept Strauss Esmay verbatim, we did, Turner said.
The board also voted to accept a Wall student into the districts summer session. Wall will compensate Bradley Beach $1,500 and will provide transportation for the student.
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