Arkwright Town Supervisor Brian McAvoy said the town is near its third attempt at a bid for the new Highway Department building. Photo by Braden Carmen

ARKWRIGHT — The Town of Arkwright is about to take its third swing at receiving a bid within the town’s price range for a new Highway Department building.

Town of Arkwright Supervisor Brian McAvoy said a structural engineer from CPL: Architecture, Engineering, and Planning Firm is working on the “necessary adaptations” to upgrade the Highway Department building. McAvoy stated the town hopes to put the project out to bid in October.

McAvoy previously said of the process, “This has been a real learning experience for me. It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

The town agreed to pay $32,800 to CPL to make the necessary adaptations to the previous building plans and put the project out to bid. That payment was in addition to previous payments for its first two attempts.

The other building project the town is working on, updating the current Town Hall, is also moving forward separately. The original plan was to have one building encompass both the Town Hall and the Highway Department building, but bids for that structure came in at $1.2 million over what the town budgeted for, only including the general contractor cost. “It’s crazy, crazy money,” McAvoy said of the single structure bids.

CPL has been provided with the scoping document for the updated Town Hall and has begun work on that project, according to McAvoy. “If we don’t veer off from what we really think is our requirement, and we don’t chase shiny objects, I think we can get the Town Hall done,” McAvoy said. “… If we can stick to what we scoped, we can get it done.”

McAvoy also noted the proposed implementation of a four-way stop at the intersection of Tarbox Road and Hall Road is “in the works.” The stop was proposed by Highway Superintendent Lisa Waldron, who is still receiving feedback from the community. McAvoy stated initial responses to the proposal have been positive.

Also, at a recent meeting of the Town Board, McAvoy presented the town’s preliminary budget for the upcoming year. A public hearing on the budget will be held at the October regular meeting of the Town Board, set for Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m.