Amphitheater Contract Change Tabled In East Brunswick After Bids Exceed Budget

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — The East Brunswick Township Council has put off a vote on a contract change for the Community Arts Center amphitheater project. All the bids for the work came in over budget, and a council member said he wants answers first.

On Monday, Nov. 9, the council voted 4-1 to table a resolution that would have added $1,830 to the township’s contract with Suburban Consulting Engineers. The firm designed the amphitheater improvements.

Bids for the project were opened Oct. 14 and came in higher than the money set aside for it, according to the resolution. The original design contract didn’t include services related to bidding. The firm proposed revising the contract documents for $1,830, and the township’s director of planning and engineering recommended approving it, the resolution says.

The change would have raised the firm’s total contract to $86,615. The council first awarded the contract for $84,785 in March.

Councilman James Wendell asked to pull the item from the consent agenda, where routine items are approved together in a single vote.

“I’d like to make a motion to pull 325 and table till our next meeting,” Wendell said. “I’d like to have Kip (Keith Kipp) here from our engineering department to discuss the change order and some of the reasons why all the bids got rejected on this project.”

Wendell said he also wants to hear “what changes are being done to make this more economically feasible.”

Township Administrator Joseph Criscuolo said the engineering official had been on vacation for the past two weeks and couldn’t attend. “But we could certainly facilitate that for the next meeting,” he said.

Wendell said he would be willing to vote once he hears from the engineering department.

“Sure, we’ll make that happen,” Criscuolo said.

Councilmen Dinesh Behal and Wendell, Councilwoman Dana Winston and Council President Dana Zimbicki voted to table the item. Councilman Kevin McEvoy voted no.

The council’s next meeting is at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23, in the Municipal Courtroom.

Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com