Cemetery wall project finally completed

RHINEBECK, N.Y. >> Three rounds of bidding and a lot of patience have finally resulted in the repair of about 300 feet of stone wall at the town cemetery on Route 9.

“We’ve been getting a lot of compliments,” Rhinebeck Supervisor Elizabeth Spinzia said at a recent Town Board meeting. “People are so thankful. It’s a gateway to our town and village.”

The board hired Doyle Contracting of Pearl River in May to do the work for $186,900. The firm was the lowest among four bidders to build a concrete wall and also the lowest among three bidders for a stone wall, which ultimately was rejected based on concerns that it would not last as long.

Tow grants totaling $85,000 are offsetting the cost of the project. The rest of the money is coming from the town budget.

A year ago, the Town Board rejected two bids for repairs to a 300-foot long section of the 135-year-old stone wall.

The July 2018 bids included $318,900 from J.C. Millbank Construction Co. of Pleasant Valley that was considered too high. At the same time, John Stinemire of Kingston submitted bids that did not have correct specifications.

In November 2017, the board announced it needed to let contractor Dean C. Ale Excavation out of a $148,208 deal because the bidding process was flawed.

The 2017 bids, from eight contractors, ranged from $209,000 to $519,300, but town officials noted those bidders had been given the engineering estimate at a meeting Ale did not attended.