SLIPPERY ROCK — Despite public outcry at Tuesday's meeting, council members voted to approve the lowest of the three bids received for the Gateway Project.

The winner, McElroy Paving, gave a total bid of $330,000 for the project and its 12 additional options.

Council members discussed the items listed as alternate bids, which account for amenities such as adding a clock, benches and additional landscaping to the park after paving.

The first phase of the Gateway Project was to demolish the old First National Bank building on South Main Street, followed by the paving of new parking spaces where the building stood.

“Tonight they got a menu,” John Trant, the borough's project manager, said of where the project stands.

Council members agreed on a few items that they said were unnecessary or could be added later, such as the clock, a seat wall and watering for the landscaping. Another item removed from the bid was a sign welcoming people to Slippery Rock. Council member Tom McPherson said people are already welcomed by a sign elsewhere.

“We don't need a welcome sign in the middle of town,” he said. “I don't see the purpose.”

With the removal of these options, Trant said the cost of the project would be about $274,714. Council members also discussed how they could reduce the cost of options they wanted, but not exactly the way they were described in the company's bid.

Trant said council could submit change orders to alter the optional items after the bid was accepted.

Midway through the bid discussion, council member Royce Lorentz made a motion to table the discussion due to confusion about sidewalk placement within the project that would conflict with a possible future project.

Lorentz did not receive a second to his motion, and council members later voted to accept the bid. Council members Lorentz and Bob Bowser voted against the bid acceptance.

Regina Greenwald, council president, said she felt a bit relieved, and is confident that she is satisfying those she has heard voice support for the project.

“I've felt good about the project since we began,” she said.

She said council members and others working on the project put forth too much effort for the project to fail at this point.

“We have worked diligently with experts,” she said. “I think it would be despicable on our part to not move forward.”

Those in attendance at Tuesday's meeting did not agree.

A mixture of citizens, incoming council members, and the mayor-elect spoke against the advancement of the project. Directly before the bid discussion, at least six people spoke in opposition to the project's advancement.

Gene Allison, an incoming council member, reiterated ideas discussed in a letter he delivered to the borough on Monday in regard to slowing down decisions regarding the final phase. He said he would like the opportunity for incoming council to discuss the extra items.

“Why can't we slow down long enough to address that,” Allison said. “I would much rather work with you than against you.”

Another incoming council member, Russell Karl, said he felt council members voting to advance the project Tuesday were ignoring the will of voters, who elected two new council members and a new mayor earlier this month, in an election where the project and the way the borough's government runs were central issues.

“I feel like they definitely had their minds made up in advance,” he said.

Karl said there was an air of finality to Tuesday's decision, but the incoming council will need to find a way to accommodate the project, despite their feelings toward it.

“We know it's going to be a little different now fiscally,” Karl said. “It's just about tightening our belt.”