Deadline Extended for Bids on Schools Project

The deadline for contractors to submit bids for the R.D. Seymour Elementary School and Allgrove Elementary School project was extended to Oct. 3, according to a town official.

Bids were originally scheduled to be opened at Town Hall on Thursday afternoon; the deadline was extended to Monday to give bidders more time to respond to an addendum to the paperwork that must be submitted to the town, according to First Selectman Tim Hayden.

The announcement was made at the regular meeting of the Board of Seletmen on Wednesday.

“Out of fairness, we wanted to give [bidders] time to digest [the addendum],” Hayden said. “We wanted to give them time to develop those bids.”

Hayden declined to comment further on the bidding process other than to say that, “We’re very optimistic in this economic climate that bids will come in at an acceptable level.”

Hayden said that the selectmen also discussed that the time for the town to consider whether to enter into a new contract with the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority was extended from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1.

“We have some more time to make up our mind,” Hayden said.

The town's current agreement with the trash authority is schedule to expire in November 2012. The new 15-year agreement includes a $20-per-ton recycling refund; the town currently receives $5 per ton, according to Hayden. 

In other business, the selectmen set a Town Meeting for Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m. to vote on whether to approve the appropriations of $32,000 for a new police SUV and just over $32,000 for the town’s MIRMA installment.