SOUTH SALEM, N.Y. - At its Jan. 26 meeting, the Lewisboro Town Board approved four resolutions that will be instrumental in building new infrastructure for a host of town departments, as well as the Lewisboro Police Department.
The board amended a prior resolution authorizing the town to seek bond funding for the purchase of the building at 898 Route 35 in Cross River. The town recently purchased the building to house the Town Court and other departments now located at the former Lewisboro Elementary School and the Town House on Main Street in South Salem. On July 28, the board authorized the issuance of $2,222,500 in bonds to purchase the new town office building.
The most recent resolution added $353,000 to that amount to pay for furnishings and renovation work at the Route 35 building, bringing the total to $2,575,500. The same resolution also amended the bonding period to 15 years; the earlier bond resolution had mistakenly called for a five-year term.
“We decided, let’s add these additional costs so we don’t have to pursue a second borrowing resolution,” Town Supervisor Tony Gonçalves said. “According to bond counsel who we work with, they said it’s OK to do that since this is part of work that’s related to that building. On the furniture, we allocated $160,000; it actually came in at $149,000. It’s on a state contract, which means that we don’t have to go out to bid. We’ve been working with this company, and they’ve done other office designs and furniture arrangements for multiple municipalities, including the latest in Pelham — which we visited with several of our department heads and the folks that are currently at LES.”
The additional funding also covers unanticipated requirements for cabinetry, furniture modifications, carpeting and other flooring, and a rear-entrance awning. It also will pay for internal renovations related to heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, other building mechanicals, doors, windows and ceilings.
“This is all related to some of the work that we’re doing to modify the interior to better fit our needs,” Gonçalves said. “There are some external building renovations, which include a separate rear entrance, landing and steps. That’s for the judges.”
New Mechanical Systems
The Route 35 building is also being wired for backup power and will have its own automatic generator capable of providing emergency power to the entire building if needed. The work package also includes security and camera systems, and seven additional parking spaces will be added, bringing the total to 26.
“Is there anything that the town is doing by way of labor for any components of this?” Councilman Rich Sklarin asked.
“We’re doing the interior modifications — moving some walls around, partitions, and replacing the ceiling tiles,” Facilities Manager Joel Smith said. “We’re doing all that, but we’re not putting in the carpet ourselves.” The carpeting will be purchased from and installed by an approved state vendor. Other work being performed by town employees includes drywall installation, taping and painting.
“Is there a way we can get a grant or some sort of support from the state as far as the cost of renovations?” Deputy Town Supervisor Mary Shah asked.
“The state does offer a $30,000 grant,” Gonçalves said. “Right now, we’re trying to keep costs at a minimum. We don’t know what the cost will be if OCA comes back to us with changes. By the way, we never had OCA approval the prior times we had a court — but now we’re following that process.”
Gonçalves said the work must proceed without delay in order for the building to be ready for staff to begin moving in. The moves are slated to begin in April, with the process expected to take about a month. In a related resolution, the board approved a bid by Haworth to outfit the building with new furnishings.
New Home for Lewisboro PD?
Another town department in need of new quarters is the Lewisboro Police Department, which has been operating out of a trailer-like structure at Lewisboro Elementary School since 2014. Unlike the Town Hall departments, the town ultimately expects to design and build a brand-new building for the police department. Last summer, the Town Board began exploring site options for a new police headquarters.
While the initial focus was on property adjacent to the Town House, the town has more recently been considering the property at 81 Spring Street in South Salem. The property is owned by the town but is currently leased to the New York State Police for a small contingent of officers.
A resolution approved at the Jan. 26 meeting authorized New Jersey-based Carlin-Simpson & Associates to perform geotechnical engineering at the Spring Street site, in anticipation of its possible use for the police headquarters. The resolution set a cap of $11,785 for the work, which can vary depending on the number and depth of soil borings required. The testing is necessary to evaluate soil composition, the presence of rock ledge and other subsurface conditions.
“We went out to RFP with the help of KG&D Architects, which has been assisting us with this project, and we received four proposals,” Gonçalves said. “We’ll go with Carlin-Simpson, which was the recommendation of KG&D, as well as KSCJ or other engineers who are working on this project.”
Mount Kisco-based KG&D Architects has been working with the board on the police project, while Armonk-based KSCJ Consulting has served as the town’s consultant on the Route 35 building.
The board also unanimously approved a related resolution to hire a contractor to perform a site survey at 81 Spring Street. Following an RFP process, three firms submitted bids. TC Merritts Land Surveyors of Pleasantville was selected for the work, at a cost not to exceed $5,950. The firm has also performed surveying work for the Route 35 project.
Carlin-Simpson & Associates will conduct the geotechnical work for the proposed police department site, which involves investigating and analyzing subsurface soil and foundation conditions for a new building. KG&D Architects developed the RFP for the geotechnical work, while KSCJ Consulting developed the RFP for the site surveys.
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