New consultant hired for school roof projects

BY DANIELLE MEDINA
Correspondent

BRICK TOWNSHIP - Board of Education members have replaced the consultant they hired in June to monitor the district's roofing projects, after the company said it couldn't meet the job's deadline.

ARMM Associates Inc., Cherry Hill, was originally hired at a cost of $560 per day to oversee the roofing work at the five district schools. But company officials withdrew their bid because they couldn't provide the requested services within the time frame required by the school district, school officials said.

Instead, Roof Maintenance Systems Inc., Farmingdale, will perform the service at a cost of $620 per day, not to exceed $22,000.

Roof Maintenance Systems was the second lowest bidder for the project, interim Superintendent Melindo A. Persi said at the July 12 board meeting.

Brick Township High School, Brick Township Memorial High School, Herbertsville Elementary School, Lake Riviera Middle School and Veterans Memorial Middle School are slated to receive new roofs over the summer.

District personnel will also be on site to monitor the projects, Persi said. The district will also receive pictures and notes on the project's progress.

The roof replacement at Brick Township High School is "moving along rather quickly" and the project is between $300,000 and $400,000 under budget, he said.

"They're ahead of us," Persi said, referring to JDS Industrial Roofing Contractors, Ocean.

The expected completion date for all the work is Aug. 26, Persi said.

The summer roofing projects are a result of Brick voters' approval of a $4.5 million bond referendum in April.

Persi also announced that district officials conducted a $4.3 million bond sale via the Internet last Thursday and were able to secure an interest rate of 4.0985 percent.