Bids for the Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library’s new location have come in too high and the library board meets tomorrow to discuss further options.
Library director Joel Meador says the county appropriated $500,000 for the project but with fees related to the building and a prevailing wage judgment less than $400,000 is available. The bids the library board received last week were nearly double the available budget, ranging from nearly $604,000 to $813,000.
Meador says project coordinator Mike Duncan is working with the architect and the board’s attorney to figure out the next steps as he reviews the bids.
“I’ve spoken with Mike Duncan and he wasn’t surprised that they were high. I wasn’t that surprised they were that high just given the history of the project,” Meador said.
Library board president Carolyn Ferrell said in December that 75 percent of the construction was complete and that it could be finished within 2014’s first quarter. Now Meador says the earliest date is this fall.
The library had to stop construction in March 2013 because of a lack of funds and the Kentucky Labor Cabinet’s prevailing wage investigation.
The library board meets at 4:30 tomorrow.
