Atherton has launched a new bidding process for its civic center project.

The Atherton City Council voted 4-0 at a meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 19, to go out for new bids on Jan. 3 for a project to rebuild the town's police, administration, library and planning division buildings.

Council member Michael Lempres recused himself because his property is within 500 feet of the project.

Initial bids for the project — now estimated to cost about $48 million — came in 40 percent higher than expected in June. The previous estimate was $40.5 million.

New bids will be due on Feb. 13, according to a staff report. The city clerk's office will accept sealed bids until 11 a.m. that day, when they will be publicly opened and read aloud. The council plans to award a bid on Feb. 20, but it could extend the bidding period if contractors need more time to put together their proposals, Marty Hanneman, the town's project manager, said at the council meeting.

If the bidding process is successful, the town plans to break ground on the project on March 13. Under the plan, the new civic center would open at the end of March 2021.

January is a much better time of year to go out for a bid because that's when contractors tend to prepare their work schedules for the rest of the year, Hanneman said.

The town will hold a pre-bid conference at 10 a.m. on Jan. 16 in the council chambers at 94 Ashfield Road. The meeting is open to the public.

-