The next step in plans to renovate and preserve the Gothic Cottage for use as the town municipal offices took place this week when the town board authorized the supervisor to put out a call for architectural firms interested in working on the project.
The official Request for Qualifications “regarding the architectural and preservation services relative to the Gothic Cottage” was unanimously approved by the board at its April 8 meeting.
The multi-page RFQ provides interested contractors detailed information on the building, the anticipated project and the town’s municipal needs for the improved space. The RFQ will not be released until Monday, April 15, and therefore was not available as of press time.
“We have all the pieces pretty much together,” said Councilor Liz Moran, who is coordinating the project for the board. “We’re really hoping to cast a wide net [with the RFQ].”
The Gothic Cottage, built in 1847 as a home for Henry Ten Eyck and his wife Elizabeth, needs a total reconstruction of the interior to make it a more functional and user-friendly workplace and public meeting area. The renovation project will include exterior and surface repairs to the roof, walls and windows, as well as improved office and public meeting areas, records storage, air conditioning and heating, electrical capability and handicapped accessibility.
Town officials have been considering a remodeling of the Gothic Cottage since 2006, when a capital reserve fund — also called the “future of the town office fund” — was established. The fund currently has a balance of about $600,000.
The RFQ is not a call for contractor bids but a request for interested architectural and preservation firms to present their ideas on how best to plan and undertake the renovation and improvement project. “They have to convince us they have good ideas and are the best ones to hire,” Moran said. When the board ultimately chooses an architectural firm for the work it will be based on qualifications and ideas for the project and not on project pricing, she said.
A timeline for the project includes a walk-through of the Gothic Cottage for interested firms, the submittal of qualifications and proposals, board discussion time, pricing negotiation time between the board and the selected firm and public hearings to obtain community input. The final, physical work on the cottage will not begin until September 2013 at the earliest, according to the RFQ timeline.
The Request for Qualifications will be available for public viewing on the town website beginning April 15.
Also at the meeting:
—The board approved the sale of two 2007 snow plow trucks, each at a price of $110,000. These sale prices will go toward purchasing two new replacement plow trucks.
— The board approved the purchase of a 2014 snow plow/ dump truck, which can also be used as a brine applicator during winter, for $213,178.
— The board approved the sale of a John Deere loader for $151,300, which was $6,300 more than officials expected to receive from the sale.
—Supervisor Ralph Monforte commented on the “great presentation” of the Cazenovia Arts and Heritage Alliance on April 3 at which the group released the results of its economic impact study of the arts and culture industry in Cazenovia. Monforte said the board would discuss the project and the CAHA’s request for municipal support at the regular May town board meeting.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
