The Lewiston Town Board approved a contract worth $167,905 with Walter S. Johnson Construction to carry out renovation work on the Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce Building on Center Street.
The work involves replacing the windows, doors, and roof of the historic building, with the roof taking the majority of the costs at around $111,000. The board approved it during a special meeting held Monday morning.
The funding comes from the town’s H98 account, which gets money through the New York Power Authority selling electricity on the open market. The town agreed to pay for this last year, rather than the Village of Lewiston, along with other work in the village’s Red Brick Building.
Board members did raise issues with the project cost, and discussed how hard it is to receive bids for municipal projects like this, especially on historic buildings. The village’s Historic Preservation Committee had to give its approvals for the work, and the town needs to pay the prevailing wage to workers.
Town Supervisor Steve Broderick also acknowledged that municipal projects are suffering due to major construction at the new Amazon facility in the Town of Niagara and the Lake Mariner Data Center in Somerset.
The town board was also supposed to award another contract for work at the Riverfront Park on Lower River Road, but that had to be tabled because they are still waiting for paperwork from their bond company. It will next be discussed at the July 27 meeting.
This past March, the board terminated a contract with Murdough Development Concrete & Masonry after they failed to complete projects at the park on time.