Waldwick November 7, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 3 After more than a year of waiting for grant funds to actually be disbursed, the Waldwick Community Alliance finally received a check for $198,762.22 from the Bergen County Historic Preservation trust fund on Oct. 24. This was the first payment toward the WCA’s $293,862 Phase I Grant approval for the 2010 round. The organization was awarded a $293,862 grant in 2010 and $195,000 in 2011 from the county trust fund. “We finally got our grant money. We were really stalled and couldn’t continue without it,” an elated Chuck Wanamaker, the WCA president, told the Waldwick Borough Council at its last meeting. “There is simply no way we could have moved this project forward to the extent we have without Chuck’s doing. I don’t think most people know how far Chuck has stuck his neck out for the sake of this project,” stressed WCA Vice President Doug Cowie. Completed work includes structural repairs including the total replacement to the rotted wooden sill plate, extensions and repairs to the masonry foundation, structural framing repairs to the building’s walls and roof, a new synthetic roofing system, the installation of a new gutter system, the removal of the old and installation of a new masonry chimney to match the original, the removal of the exterior stucco, repairs to exterior wood siding and trim, replacement of the exterior door sills, restoration of the decorative metal cresting and the fabrication of the ventilator cap. Also completed is the re-grading around the 1800’s building to allow for positive storm water runoff. Cowie said that Wanamaker, in an effort to keep the project moving in a forward direction, provided the WCA with WCA gets first grant payment for restoration work a line of credit to pay for work that the WCA’s fundraising money alone couldn’t handle while waiting for the county dollars to come in. “Chuck has been making payments to the contractors for nearly a year now. The unfortunate part of this is that the line of credit comes with interest payments that must be made to the bank every month,” Cowie said. “Interest payments on credit lines or loans are not reimbursable by the county and have cost the WCA several thousand dollars to date. So the payment from the county could not have come too soon,” he added. Cowie said that this first payment represents a 75 percent reimbursement for money expended to date, which is $248,452.77. The other 25 percent, he said, has been funded through the WCA’s fundraising efforts. As the work continues, the WCA will be able to submit vouchers to the county for reimbursement for completed work up to the $293,862 amount. Once that funding is spent, Cowie said, the group can begin drawing against the 2011 grant round award of $195,000. The project encountered several delays. Because historic restoration projects often involve unforeseen work that was not part of the original approved project, the WCA had to resubmit a budget taking into account these changes, which had to get approval from the county historic preservation advisory board. Cowie said this had to be done to ensure that the work would be covered by the grant moneys. “We would be in real big trouble if the county decided it would not help fund the extra $29,000 in additional structural issues that were uncovered during construction. While these things do take time, the WCA is grateful that the county has been very supportive of this project and making every effort to give us what we need to perform a proper restoration,” he said. Other delays resulted from an erosion in the relationship between the WCA and the county-approved contractor hired to complete the work. Multiple documented quality issues, over billing, filing of improper paperwork, failure to properly oversee its sub-contractors and internal issues within the company forced the WCA to negotiate a settlement with the contractor to get it off the job and bring a new contractor to finish, Cowie explained. He said that no final settlement has yet been reached, but progress is being made. “Should we fail to agree on a number, the contractor will either be forced to finish the contracted work or the job will be turned over to the bonding agent underwriting the job,” he said. The WCA has already chosen a new approved contractor, who will move in once an agreement is reached with the current contractor. He will correct any unapproved work as well as complete new work, including the remainder of repairs to siding and trim, the restoration of all 19 windows, the construction of four new exterior doors to match the originals, the installation of electrical components, and the installation of a new interior floor. Meanwhile, community fundraising continues, and Cowie urges residents to support the upcoming events: a beefsteak dinner and silent auction on Saturday, Nov. 17 at Guardian Angel Church in Allendale, to be catered by the Brownstone; and a “Win A Dream Vacation” fundraiser, with the drawing scheduled for Sunday, April 28, 2013. This event is being co-sponsored by Kallman Travel Services of Waldwick. Raffle tickets are (continued on page 7)