Waldwick July 18, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 3 The bonding company is now in charge of finishing the addition and renovation to the Waldwick Library. The original contractor on the project has been declared in default and the bonding company will complete the work at no additional cost to the borough. “There were many quality-of-work issues, and the work was not getting done. It was time to say good-bye to the contractor and let the bonding company take over,” said Borough Administrator Gary Kratz. “Hopefully we’ll find new partners to get the job done the way we deserve and are paying for – nothing less,” said Councilman Don Sciolaro, liaison to the Library Board. Allied Construction of Voorhees, NJ the lowest of 17 bidders, was awarded the contract for the work last October at a base price of $287,000. A total of $400,000 has been allocated for the project, with funds coming through donations to the Friends of the Waldwick Library, and a $100,000 contribution from the borough’s capital improvement fund. The original completion date of May 21came and went, and the extended deadline of July 9 for the interior work negotiated with the bonding company was missed as well. Library contractor fired; bonding company steps in Sciolaro said a walk-through of the site is scheduled for this week to determine what remains to be done and hopefully establish a new target date. The bonding company will then call in contractors to complete the various unfinished aspects of the project. “Some things that need to be done are small, and some are significant. I hope we now make better progress,” the councilman said . Sciolaro said that the first order of business would be to complete the interior work on the renovation, then on the addition, with the outside work done last. Sciolaro said that work moved slowly from the start, but that it was done well. Then as time progressed, it became “slow and inferior … they had to dismantle and start over,” he explained. The outside stone fascia did not match the original, for example, and HVAC issues arose which held up the work in other areas. The new windows have yet to be delivered, and as yet there is no commitment from the supplier as to when they will arrive. They had been expected on June 1. “Changing the builder had to be done. The old builder was not doing the job he was hired to do. We have an obli- gation to our residents to have an addition put on the library, and we have to make sure it is done right and in a timely fashion. Our library is very important to our community, and we want to continue to have a library we are all proud of. When the project is completed, it will be a great addition to our community and our Waldwick History,” commented Mayor Thomas Giordano. The bump-out addition to the east side of the building, which features similar stone and window details as the existing building, will nearly double the size of the library’s meeting room, from 625 square feet to 1,175 square feet. The existing meeting space will be converted into a multipurpose room that will provide storage space for local history materials, and serve as a conference room and an area for quiet study.