By ROBERT LINNEHAN
Several bids came in for the cleanup work at the Haddonfield Department of Public Works building for damage done to the area last spring. Last May a leaking diesel pipe contaminated the property and leaked some of the material into a nearby stream.
Eight companies submitted bids for the project and the Commissioners approved the job for Luzon Inc. for almost $400,000. Commissioners Jeff Kasko and Ed Borden approved the bid, as Mayor Tish Colombi was not in attendance.
Commissioner Jeff Kasko said Luzon Inc. was the initial company that received the borough’s emergency contract for the immediate work at the site.
“We have to do this. We have to clean this up,” Kasko said.
Luzon Inc. submitted a bid that was almost $300,000 lower than the next highest bidder, TTI Environmental Inc. Luzon has a good idea of what needs to be done at the site because it has been there since May, Kasko said, and won’t have to be brought up to speed before work can be started.
The borough should receive compensation from its Joint Insurance Fund for the project, Kasko said, but its unknown exactly how much money it will receive. There may also be a deductible that the borough would have to pay for the project, he said.
Because the incident was declared an emergency Haddonfield can also finance the project over several years, Kasko reported. It would not have to be paid all at once.
The DPW site is located at a section of the Borough with a very high water table. A nearby creek is also making the cleanup process more difficult.
