Broome Receives Roofing Bids

By Joshua Walther

BROOME - On Wednesday evening, the Broome Town Board met to discuss two new roofing bids for their dilapidated salt shed, as well as a contract with a new accounting firm.

Having been a topic that the Board has tossed around for years, the salt shed roof first went to bid last summer in the hopes of finding a company that could repair it within a quick timeframe of a month or two.

Unfortunately, nothing was received in return at that point, which Supervisor Steve Weinhofer speculated was due to bidding too late in the season with not enough turnaround time.

Over the last couple months, the Board rebid the job with a new completion date of Fall 2026, and they were excited to reveal that two interested companies had gotten back to them.

The first is S&L Roofing, based out of Vorheesville. To put a brand-new roof on the salt shed, their asking point is $117,502, with an additional $24,946 if the Board chooses to use metal.

The second comes from VAD Contractors, and their initial total is a cheaper alternative of $102,700, but their metal pricing is twice as high as their competitor’s at a total of $308,000.

While members talked briefly about the differences in costs, Supervisor Weinhofer affirmed that both bids will be subject to attorney review and approval, and that they would decide to award one of the companies either next month or in the new year, which would leave the decision to a new supervisor.

“I don’t want to tie the new Board’s hands,” Supervisor Weinhofer said. “Especially if it’s something that they don’t like.”

In other news, members also discussed their request for proposal for a new accounting firm, as the Town’s employed accountant will be leaving at the turn of the year.

The Board received one response via email from Evening Star Bookkeeping of Schoharie, who offered varied hourly rates for different levels of service.

“I don’t know how well rates translate to an annual contract,” said Supervisor Weinhofer as he noted that the price points were different from what they were used to.

Despite this, he still suggested that the Town find out what it would cost for an annual contract and sign with Evening Star to fill the place of an accountant.

“We don’t want to be stuck on January 1st with nobody,” explained Supervisor Weinhofer.

Acting on his advice, the Board passed a motion to pursue a contract once they reach out to other municipalities that Evening Star also works with to agree on a lump sum number.