At its January 13 meeting, the South Orange Council voted to extend the time period for awarding a contract for the renovation and expansion of the South Orange Public Library.
“We did receive the bids. The bids were a little bit higher than what was expected,” said Mayor Sheena Collum at the January 13 South Orange Village Council meeting. “Administration and the Council are working with the Library Board to bring this back within the scoped budget that we have authorized, including the matching grant that we have received from the state. This is an extension of awarding the bid until we have an agreement in place on how we proceed.”
In a followup phone call, Village Administrator Julie Doran did not share bid amounts but confirmed that the Council had previously appropriated a total of $16 million for all costs related to the library renovation, including pre-construction and professional fees.
“We’re now in the process of reviewing bids and we hope to award by mid-February,” said Doran.
The township has been awarded a $6.5 million reimbursement grant from the State of New Jersey through the Library Construction Bond Act for the project.
In addition, “the volunteers with the Foundation for the South Orange Library are hard at work raising capital funds for the library construction,” South Orange Council Member Karen Hilton told Village Green.
The Foundation is separate from the Library Board which is the publicly appointed Board, based in state law, tasked with overseeing all library operations, said Hilton. Hilton serves as the Village Council-designated liaison to the Library Board, and is also a member of and donor to the Library Foundation.
Separately, the volunteers with the Friends of the Library raise funds for special operations of the library, Hilton explained.
Read the resolution below:
RESOLUTION #2025-003
January 13, 2025
RESOLUTION EXTENDING DATE TO AWARD CONTRACT FOR THE RENOVATION AND
CONSTRUCTION OF THE SOUTH ORANGE MUNICIPAL LIBRARY COMPLEX
WHEREAS, South Orange Village received bids for the Renovation and Construction of the South Orange Library Complex on December 10. 2024; and
WHEREAS, the deadline to award a contract on such proposals is within 60 days of the receipt of bids unless extended by agreement; and
WHEREAS, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-24 authorizes an extension of the time to award a contract on public bids/proposals with the agreement of the bidders; and
WHEREAS, due to the need to continue discussion regarding the project, the Village has requested an extension of the deadline for another 60 days; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Village Council of South Orange Village to extend the deadline to Award a Contract for Renovation and Construction of the South Orange Library Complex as authorized by N.J.S.A. 40A:11-24.
