Still in the planning stage, Richmondville's new town hall nonetheless took a big step forward last week.
Town councilmen on Thursday accepted bids for the new building, which will be on Podpadic Road.
The town hall will cost about $512,000, but that amount won't cause taxes to rise, according to Supervisor Dick Lape.
"We feel it's fiscally prudent to build the building without raising taxes," he said.
This is actually Richmondville's second round of bidding for construction. Bids opened last October "were over $200,000 higher" than officials expected, so they decided to re-bid, Mr. Lape said.
Councilmen approved four bids Thursday night:
•Clerk of the works to oversee the project, Nelson Contracting of Middleburgh, $11,000
•General construction, the steel, concrete, interior, walls and more, ZMS Structures of Richmondville, $337,000.
•Mechanical, radiant heat and plumbing, MPB Heating and Plumbing of Middleburgh, $78,509.
•Electrical, interior and exterior and parking lot lighting, CDE Electric of Cairo, $65,420.
After rejecting bids in October, officials sought local contractors in hopes of getting lower prices, Mr. Lape said.
Also, design changes in construction, exterior siding and other facets lowered the costs, according to engineer Greg Badger of Badger Engineering.
"We just didn't send out the same specs and hope for lower numbers," Mr. Badger said.
He added that the project was expected to start after the October bid opening. With construction now starting in the spring, concrete needn't be winterized, as it would have been over the cold months.
Not having to winterize the concrete also lowered the cost, Mr. Badger said.
Those savings reduced the cost of the building. As for not raising taxes, Mr. Lape said the town will take out a $300,000 bond.
Each year, Richmondville puts between $15,000 and $20,000 into a capital reserve fund. Now, half of the $15,000 to $20,000 will help with the monthly payments on the bond, and the other half will apply to the principle of the loan to pay it off sooner, Mr. Lape said.