By Carol Vaughn —
The Accomack County Board of Supervisors approved a change order related to steel roof decking for the new Eastern Shore Regional Library.
The estimate to replace the existing roof on the older part of the building, which formerly was a grocery store, came in at $162,093, with a note that there would be a four- to five-month wait for the roofing material.
A second estimate, based on receiving materials more quickly, in six weeks, from a different supplier, was for around $186,000, according to Deputy County Administrator Stewart Hall.
Both options are higher than the $130,000 the board had authorized in May.
The second, faster option would use up all remaining contingency funds for the construction project and leave a $7,000 shortfall.
Supervisor Paul Muhly, who serves on the library construction steering committee, said it was the committee’s consensus that the longer wait time is “absolutely unacceptable.”
“Anybody that is familiar with the present condition of the library — it is…the steering committee’s consensus that we go ahead and bite the bullet and go for the shorter time to get this project done. Until we get that new roof on, there will be no work done inside that building,” Muhly said. He said the company that can deliver the steel material more quickly is the same company that did the steel work for the new Eastern Shore Community College building.
Supervisor Robert Crockett asked what guarantees the county has that the work will be completed more quickly under the second option.
“None, to my knowledge,” Hall said, noting the contractor has asked for time extensions in the past.
The board voted unanimously to approve the faster option.
Accomack County Administrator Mike Mason said the $7,000 needed could come from the county’s general budget contingency funds, which had $32,000 in it.
Work Session Set to Discuss Federal Funds Use
The board scheduled a work session Wednesday, July 7, at 5 p.m., at Metompkin Elementary School in Parksley, to discuss how to use the coronavirus state and local fiscal recovery funds coming to the county through the American Rescue Plan Act.
Economic Development Authority
David Lumgair, vice chairman of the Accomack County Economic Development Authority, spoke about the EDA’s previous request for additional funds from the county.
“We have a couple of things that we see coming near-term,” he said.
One is related to a state-funded hangar.
“One of the issues that we see forthcoming with that is stormwater mitigation,” Lumgair said, noting there are advantages to dealing with stormwater mitigation in the industrial park as a whole, rather than piecemeal as each project comes up.
“One of them is it will of course get the project going faster,” he said.
Additionally, the EDA is continuing to work on an unmanned aerial vehicle project within the park, which includes building a service road among other improvements.
Lumgair said the EDA plans to provide quarterly updates to the board of supervisors.
Landfill Expansion Contract Awarded
The board approved award of a $3.8 million contract to expand Cell 7 at the northern landfill to the low bidder, Harnden Group.
The board also approved a resolution for issuance, sale, and award of a solid waste system revenue bond related to the landfill project.
