As previously telegraphed in The Newtown Bee, a key official who sat in on bid openings for the new police headquarters is expecting the project to come in measurably under budget.

Public Building and Site Commission Chairman Robert Mitchell said he sat in as town finance officials opened and qualified bid packages for various trades September 25, to convert a former commercial office building on South Main Street into a new police department headquarters.

While three trades did not develop a single bid, or failed to get the minimum of three bids to qualify, Mr Mitchell said when combining professional estimates for those three areas, “it looks like we’re going to be under budget by about $200,000.”

The three trades packages that will require rebidding in the coming days are for glass, overhead doors, and millwork, he said.

“This is good news,” Mr Mitchell commented. “There were no surprises.”

The next step in the pre-construction process involves the construction manager taking all the winning low bids and “leveling” them. The PBSC chairman explained that the leveling process ensures that low bids include all the work and materials required in existing plans for the facility. At the same time, town officials will re-solicit new bids for the three missing components.

Once the leveling process and the rebidding is complete, officials can release the contracts, and the construction phase of the project can commence.

In a previous report siting Mr Mitchell’s prediction of an under budget completion for the new headquarters, he did include a caveat in the event unanticipated issues or significantly escalating material costs developed during the construction phase.

Mr Mitchell planned to relate all this information to his commission, which was scheduled to hold a special meeting on September 25, after the newspaper’s print deadline but before the weekly publication hit newsstands on Thursday.