CRISFIELD — Bids opened by the city for construction of an after-school facility proposed by It Takes a Village to Help Our Children Inc. were more than double the funds in hand but will be examined before any recommendations are made to the City Council.

The 8,495 sq. ft. building to be located on Asbury Avenue where the Whittington Primary School once stood is designed by Maurice Ngwaba, principal of CHYKE Maurice & Associates of Salisbury.

Prior solicitations received no response, so the plans were broken down into a first phase of just 4,862 sq. ft. with two alternates of virtually the same number of square feet bringing it up to full size.

During the bid opening June 30, the city’s grants administrator Kate Finucan said Salisbury contractor Gillis Gilkerson submitted a base bid of $3,957,096 and no bids for the two alternates while Delmarva Veteran Builders also of Salisbury bid $4,575,000. For the first alternate the price was $1,229,250 and for alternate 2 it was $1,176,000.

In the paperwork from Gillis Gilkerson the company noted that while it expected construction costs to be $350 per square foot the prices received for materials and considering “the times we’re in” that had risen to $775 per sq. ft.

Both Gillis Gilkerson and Delmarva Veteran Builders had representatives attend the June 7 pre-bid meeting which was not mandatory but encouraged. One of the stipulations for the builder is to pay Davis-Bacon wages, something Mr. Ngwaba had previously hoped could be suspended as a way to keep costs down.

It Takes a Village has about $1.5 million in its building fund with $800,000 of that through a Community Development Block Grant. There is also $350,000 from the Weinberg Foundation, $200,000 from the Rural Maryland Council and $100,000 from Somerset County through the American Rescue Plan.

It was originally estimated construction costs would be $1.65 million.

Ms. Finucan said she would be speaking with her contact with the Department of Housing and Community Development on how to proceed but said a committee would be formed to include DHCD representation as well as someone from the county and city, with two from the It Takes a Village board.

Attending the bid opening was Village board member Elmer Barkley, who is also a neighbor to the property. Not present was Darlene Taylor, executive director, who as the newly-elected mayor will not be part of any decision-making on behalf of the city about this project. The City Council gave final approval for the project in February, but during its last meeting under the previous administration voted down the waiving of permit fees which would be less than $1,400.

The Whittington Primary School closed in 2006. That building continued to serve both Head Start and It Takes a Village until after superstorm Sandy in 2012 when it was permanently closed due to mold. The former school was razed in 2017 and the property of more than 3 acres has been vacant since then.

It Takes a Village is based in a former PNC Bank on lower West Main Street, but that building is not large enough for its programs. The deed to the property was transferred by the city to the non-profit in January.