Mamaroneck Town Changes Bid Strategy For Hommocks Ice Rink Project

Although the Town of Mamaroneck is moving forward with bids to renovate the and increase its environmental efficiencies, the process has been temporarily stymied by price quotes that have come in higher than anticipated.

A bond resolution for the three phase improvement project was voted on by the and will include the replacement of dehumidification, fresh air ventilation and fire alarm systems as well as the lighting over the rink surface, repair of an emissivity (insulated) ceiling and electrical upgrades.

Although the town had originally budgeted $530K for the project—which included design and engineering costs—the bids sent out in August came in over $200K higher than planned, at $793K. 

“This was well above what we had budgeted and estimated for the project,” said Town Administrator Steve Altieri at last week’s board meeting.

According to Altieri, the estimates fell short of expectations for two reasons: the town did not receive as many bids as they originally hoped for as several contractors were working on other projects, leaving them with only a few options.  Additionally, the actual cost for dehumidification equipment had to be adjusted within the budget after the town received an erroneous estimate from a vendor.

The board rejected bids for the electrical and mechanical contracts, instead, awarding a $67K bid to the New Rochelle-based Talt Electric for a fire alarm system replacement.

“Our design engineers will rewrite the bid specs for the electrical contract to only include replacement lighting in the arena,” said Altieri, adding that new bids would be accepted in late September or early October as it is easier to perform the work when the ice surface is in place.

For the remaining phases of the project, however, the board will consolidate the work into one document that will be put out to bid in January, 2013 both to take advantage of better pricing during the off-season as well as to allow more time to figure out ways in which the project can be more environmentally sustainable.

“I want to remind everyone that the ice rink is the largest energy user in the town…due to the age and wear and tear on the equipment for the ice rink, it’s really working overtime and it’s not able to do the job efficiently,” said Town Supervisor Nancy Seligson.

Some of the energy efficient possibilities the town is considering include potentially reusing heat from the ice making machine for the dehumidification system and/or preheating the water utilized by ice reconditioning machine, which will cut down on energy consumption.

The January 2013 bid document will include replacement of the dehumidification and fresh air ventilation systems; repair of an emissivity (insulated) ceiling; electrical system upgrades; replacement of dasherboards, sport court floor, ice floor piping and underground heating as well as installation of reflective roof coating paint.

A majority of the work will take place in the summer of 2013, with the rink's false alarm and lightning in the arena building being performed later this fall.

The next Town of Mamaroneck Board meeting will take place on Sept. 19 at 8 p.m.