Rehoboth moving forward on City Hall

Rehoboth Beach officials are laying the groundwork for the $18 million City Hall project before the actual groundwork gets underway.

Rick DiSabatino, vice-president of contractor EDiS Co. said officials are finalizing loan documents before sending them to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development branch. The city cannot access the $18 million loan until the project is completed, so the plan is to fund construction through a loan from PNC Bank, pay the bank back with the USDA money and then owe the USDA.

DiSabatino said bid packages were also being prepared for the demolition and construction work. While details were not available yet, DiSabatino said there would be separate contracts for the building and another for the security measures for the police facility.

That would bring the total number of contracts for the project to five. The city commissioners approved the first of those contracts Sept. 18, with a $250,000 contract with Williams Scotsman for construction trailers to be used as offices while construction is ongoing.

DiSabatino said he would be working with city officials to further refine the project’s budget. The $18 million in funding was approved at a June 27 referendum. Demolition work on the current City Hall is scheduled to being in mid-November. The new City Hall building that will house all the city’s major government functions under one roof, and a new building on the same Rehoboth Avenue campus will house the parking department and Rehoboth Beacn Main Street.