Asbury Park spends $18 million on construction project. See what the plan is

ASBURY PARK - Despite some concerns about the contractor, City Council recently voted 3-2 to award an $18 million contract to Wallace Bros. Inc. to build the new fire department headquarters.

Brick Township-based Wallace Bros., in operation since 1986, submitted the lowest bid of the 10 bids the city received for the project, City Attorney Frederick C. Raffetto said.

New building moving to Memorial Drive

The new 31,800 square foot building will be located on Memorial Drive, instead of the current Main Street location, and will be able to house a staff of 53 full-time firefighter/emergency medical technicians and support personnel.

The existing firehouse, built more than 100 years ago, is about 9,600 square feet.

The $18 million price tag includes a two-story facility with eight vehicle equipment bays, as well as site work, roadway and traffic signal improvements, and a rooftop solar array, according to city officials.

"Recent supply chain and global economic factors have contributed to elevated costs of most goods and services, which have impacted construction projects such as this one," according to city officials.

While the council voted to approve the contract, some city officials remain skeptical.

After the bids were opened in February, Raffetto said the city learned of certain allegations and information which may have affected the determination that Wallace Bros. was the lowest “responsible” bidder for the project.

According to Raffetto, the concerns were related to responses provided by the company to two questions on the “Statement of Experience and Qualifications” form in the bid package. They involved debts over sixty days and liens placed on any projects.

Wallace answered “no” to each of those questions. However, information that was provided to the city suggested that those responses may not have been accurate.

Anatomy of a wildfire: ‘This definitely had high potential to be extremely catastrophic’

Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn and Councilwoman Angela Ahbez-Anderson opposed awarding the contract, citing their concerns about the contractor's comments about the bid.

Quinn said that, while she understood why the majority voted to award the contract, the owner's answers to council's questions were not satisfactory and that the Department of Labor also has on-going investigation into Wallace Bros.

"So, while I completely understand a majority of the council is moving forward - we absolutely need a firehouse - I don't support the award for Wallace," Quinn said.

Ahbez-Anderson said she opposed the award because "I believe that Wallace misrepresented themselves."

Councilwoman Eileen Chapman, however, said she voted for the contract for the good of the city, explaining that "in all good conscience I can't hold up a new firehouse from being built. Our firemen are in substandard accommodations right now and if this were to go to court it could hold the project up indefinitely."

Councilwoman Yvonne Clayton said she favored moving forward for the same reasons as Chapman and Mayor John Moor echoed those sentiments.

During a hearing before council, Steve Wallace, President of Wallace Bros., Inc., and his attorney, Stephen Bialkowski, addressed council's concerns.

Wallace said the company has never failed to complete a project and has never defaulted on payments to any subcontractor or supplier, but Wallace and the city had different interpretations of the term “debt” relating to outstanding payments to subcontractors, Raffetto said.

One of Wallace’s prior jobs was for the Ocean County College Performing Arts Academy.

Wallace was sued by several subcontractors on that job who claimed they had not been paid for materials supplied and/or for work completed for substantial periods of time, despite demands for payment following the delivery of the goods and/or performance of the work.

Wallace responded that in each of those circumstances, disputes had arisen with the subcontractors as to the quality of work performed, which caused Wallace to withhold payment.

Wallace said that he did not consider the amounts claimed by the subcontractors to constitute a “debt,” as the work was defective and the amount owed was in “dispute.” So, according to Wallace, payment was withheld and not due under the terms of the contract.

Wallace added that in the construction world disputes over performance and deficiencies are common. He added that his company is not on the state’s debarred list, and that his company is not connected to Wallace General Contracting, LLC, of Hamilton, which is on that list.

In addition, the city did gather positive feedback about the company for its work on other projects, including work done for the Lakewood Township Board of Fire Commissioners. Lakewood reported that Wallace came in on time and within budget on both projects.

Wallace said he recognized that perhaps he should have answered the two questions in the bid proposal differently to avoid any misunderstandings, but he maintained that he had not made any intentional misrepresentations.

Construction is likely to begin no later than August of this year.

Also: Lightning strike causes Ship Bottom house fire

More: Two-alarm fire damages Long Branch home

Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Brick NJ developer awarded contract to build Asbury Park fire station