Great Neck Plaza village officials authorized a special meeting on Wednesday night to discuss the details of the Shoreward-Welwyn transportation enhancement project, in hopes of pushing it forward before May 16.
Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender said they are having the meeting, to take place on May 9 at 7 p.m. in village hall, because the village’s engineering consultant Albert Dawson of LKB needed more time to look over plans and the bid documents.
Getting guidance from the state has also been “difficult,” Celender added.
“There were several bids and… it’s a matter of reviewing not only the bid amounts, but that all of their certifications and everything they need for this is in order,” Patricia O’Byrne, the village clerk-treasurer, said on Friday.
Efforts to reach Dawson were unavailing.
Among the four bidders were Stasi Brothers Asphalt, J. Anthony Enterprises, which did work on the Maple Drive parking lot, United Paving and Masonry, and Quintal Contracting Corp. Of those four companies, O’Byrne said three offered bids around the $1 million mark.
“They’re all within the range and they’re fairly consistently close to one another,” O’Byrne said.
The $1.09 million project was first introduced in January 2016 at a board meeting with the hope of making the area around Shoreward Drive and Welwyn Road friendlier to pedestrians and help revitalize the area.
At the time it was estimated to cost $1.04 million and be done by November 2017.
O’Byrne previously said that officials raised their cost estimates on the project to account for rising prices overtime. O’Byrne primarily attributed the delays to back and forths with the state Department of Transportation.
Federal aid administered through the state’s transportation department will account for 80 percent of the project costs. The village will pick up the other 20 percent.
The plan calls for the creation of a 4500 square foot public plaza, new curbing and brick sidewalks, LED street lighting and additional trees, according to a village newsletter.
An earlier presentation of the plan also shows the inclusion of a new circular intersection, “sharrow” bike lanes, a mid-block raised crosswalk, and other pedestrian safety features.
In unrelated business, village officials continued public hearings on amending their zoning codes to incentivize affordable housing to June 5.
Update 5/10/2018: Village officials gave a preliminary approval for J. Anthony Enterprises, whose bid was worth $995,754, to work on the project. The final package now goes to the State Department of Transportation for approval.
