Politics & Government

Hatboro Postpones Court Building Fitout

The Hatboro Borough Council is expected to vote later this month to award a contract for the fitout of district court.

Feeling the sting of the beleaguered Enterprise Fire Co. expansion project, Hatboro officials postponed awarding bids for the fitout of a new home for District Judge Paul Leo Monday.

In all, the borough received eight bids ranging from $292,200 from Maxis Construction in Southampton, to the highest bid of $483,000, according to Borough Manager Fred Zollers. The bids have been turned over to the architect for review "and to make sure each bid is for what we asked for," he said.

"Some of the bidders we were unfamiliar with as a staff," Zollers said, adding that he wanted to "take time and investigate the background on each of them" before the council awards a bid.

Find out what's happening in Hatboro-Horshamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Zollers told Patch that extra care was being taken because of the more than two years of setbacks with the fire company's building addition. Borough officials and the contractor for that project, Titanium Enterprises, have been at an impasse for some months now.

He assured the council that a recommendation for a contractor, as well as a project manager, would be ready for the governing body's April 22 meeting.

Find out what's happening in Hatboro-Horshamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Borough attorney Christen Pionzio said the "median" for bids was in the $340,000 to $350,000 range.

"We want to make sure we’re getting a responsible bidder," Pionzio said. "Responsible is the key word."

If the project moves forward, the plan is for the borough to sign a 10-year lease with Montgomery County contingent on outfitting a vacant condo at Victorian Village to relocate Leo's court from the second floor of the municipal building.

Council President John Zygmont said previously that the county pays Hatboro $57,000 per year to lease Leo's existing space. Under a tentative 10-year contract set to begin this fall, he said Hatboro would earn $70,000 per year in lease fees. 

Hatboro would be responsible for the first $150,000 to outfit the space and the remainder would be split between Hatboro and the county, he had said.


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