KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) After Keene Public Works Director Don Lussier made several recommendations on how to reduce the cost of the Downtown Infrastructure Improvement and Reconstruction Project, the City Council is slated to vote on those recommendations at its full council meeting Thursday night.

The recommendations the council will vote on come as a result of the initial bids for the project coming in much higher than the allotted budget of $19.8 million, with the two bids being approximately $28 million and $30.8 million.

In a recent interview on WKBK’s Open Mic Program, Lussier said one of the biggest cost-saving measures would be reverting the project back to a three-year project versus a two-year project. This, in conjunction with other, smaller changes and eliminating some aesthetic features in their entirety would save the city about $2.3 million. The city is also proposing to reallocate around $2.7 million from future paving plans which would push those projects back two years.

In an interview on Monday, Mayor Jay Kahn said that while price is a major factor in deciding which bid to accept, it’s not the end all be all, saying “it’s not just to get the right price, it’s also to get the right contractor … that we can keep it local, and encourage more local contractors to bid on this … that’s a win for the region.”

Lussier and Kahn have both said that with a three-year project, it is much more feasible for a local contractor to bid on the project. Kahn said it was important for the council to act quickly and approve these recommendations to the project so that they can put it back out to bid, saying “I don’t think anyone would predict [costs] are going down.”

“I think the city will take what steps it needs to take in order to launch the project in as timely a way as we can,” Kahn said.

The full City Council will meet in their regular chambers on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.