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Village of Lansing Trustees rejected bids for a new Village Office Monday.  Officials had hoped construction could begin on a 2,662 square foot office building would have included offices for the Village Clerk, Code Enforcement Office, and DPW, and will include a public meeting room and an office for the Trustees and Mayor.  But actual construction costs would have put the project at least a quarter of a million dollars over budget.

"There is a significant amount of sticker shock," said Mayor Donald Hartill.  "That leads me to recommend that we reject all of the bids, and think about that with our architect with the plan of starting again.  It's depressing how expensive it is."

Originally Village officials hoped to complete the project for about $500,000.  When it was discovered that considerable site work was necessary that figure was upped to $750,000.  Hartill said the money was in a building reserve and the project could be funded with no additional taxes.  The original estimate included rerouting the entry road, and moving utilities including a utility pole, underground water distribution infrastructure, and power lines.  Hartill says that led him to prepare for an additional $200,000 cost, but the bids for the building came in significantly higher than budgeted for.

But, in New York State, once a project gets above $500,000 it is subject to Wick's Law.  It requires individual contractors for each piece of the project, typically raising the cost to taxpayers for capital projects.  Hartill says Wick's Law raised the cost of this project between 20 and 30 percent.  Construction bids ran between $800,000 and $1,142,000 million.  Along with the site work the lowest bid would have cost the Village close to a million dollars.


The current Village office building is shared with a Bolton point pumping station.  Pump noise and vibration are among the reasons for constructing a new building.  Hartill says  the new office will address health and safety problems, provide much needed storage space especially in the Codes Office, and house all Village employees in one facility.

Part of the site work was completed this week.  A NYSEG pole has been installed and power lines moved.  Water distribution pipes have yet to be moved.

Hartill said the board will consider its next steps.  He said the Village could opt to rebid the project as-is some time this winter, or to bid a smaller project.

"At the very least we would have to change our withdrawal of capital reserve funds to even consider that," Hartill said.  "We need to think about what we want to do.  The cost of the building itself, if you consider the cost per square foot, is very reasonable.  It's all the other things that go with it that turn out to be expensive."

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