Contractors will have a last chance to look at the New Ipswich Old Town Hall on Monday, before the invitation to bid on the building’s repair closes.
On Tuesday, the town held the first of two open sessions to allow contractors to look at the interior and exterior of the building, in hopes of receiving bids to repair a crumbling sill in the foundation, which has left the building leaning and unusable.
Last year, the town went through a similar bidding process, but only had one bid submitted, after the bid deadline. They are hopeful a second round may yield results.
“We’ve already had one bid,” said Town Administrator Joanne Meshna on Tuesday. “And there was at least one person interested in looking at the building today.”
Though the town has speculated other possible uses for the building, it’s traditionally only been used once a year, to house the New Ipswich Children’s Fair White Elephant sale. It has not been used for the past several years due to safety concerns over the damage to the foundation.
A second pre-bid meeting for those interested in reviewing the existing conditions of the hall is planned for Monday, June 4, at 10 a.m. Those interested can contact Mark Hopkins at facility@townofnewipswich.org to confirm attendance.
All proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope, labeled “Town of New Ipswich Old Town Hall Bid 2018” and received at the Select Board office at the town offices on or before June 19 at 3 p.m. Bids will be opened and read aloud at the Select Board meeting on June 19 at 6 p.m. and awarded at a regular board meeting.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.