A sealed bid opened at the Johnstown Housing headquarters. Directors say it’s aimed at deciding the future of fixing and maintaining electrical and plumbing, for the Prospect community, in Cambria county.
Michael Alberts, from the Johnstown Housing Authority, says this bid is separate from the first one, which was held for general construction. Alberts says Leonard Fiore Inc. Is in charge of that.
It started with a report last spring, which said structural problems in the homes needed to be fixed. The most alarming finding by engineers, the fear of more ceilings collapsing after one injured a resident.
“Fortunately for us, to have competitive bidding, we received two bids each for the electrical and plumbing jobs. So now, the next step is to review the paperwork, and make sure we have a responsible low bidder and move forward with getting those contracts in place, so we can begin work.”
The bids opening Tuesday, included local businesses from Windber, DuBois, and Johnstown. Alberts says electrical work bids were between $282,100 and $420,000 dollars, while plumbing work ranges between $808,707 and $953,124.
He says Johnstown housing hopes to ‘fast track the process’ through a solicitor before making any final contracting decisions.
Alberts says if all goes according to plan, construction will begin within the next month.