Carbon County is moving forward on renovations to a former store that will soon become the archives department's new home.

The building, located on Fourth Street on the east side of Jim Thorpe, is the former Dollar & More store, which the county purchased last September for $95,000.On Thursday, the commissioners opened bids to install a new roof on that building.The bids ranged between $116,265, submitted by Hinkle Roofing Inc. of Weatherly and $164,000, submitted by C&D Waterproofing Corporation of Bloomsburg.Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard, who has a background in the construction industry, said after the bids were opened that he felt the numbers were a little high for the project.Plans call for ripping off the gravel roof, removing a parapet, installing two equipment curbs, constructing a fascia wall and capstones, insulating and replacing the roof.Immediately following the bid openings, Michael Tirpak of Carbon Engineering and county solicitor Dan Miscavige reviewed the bids and recommended the county award the contract to the apparent low bidder, Hinkle Roofing.The county will be working on significant renovations to that building in the coming months as it readies it for the archives department, now housed in an old building along Susquehanna Street."A lot of work has to be done there," Gerhard said.The current building's roof has had a number of issues over the years, causing major leaks and could damage the equipment and records kept there, plus it is shared with the maintenance department, so concerns have been raised with regard to health, liabilities and smells from gas and fuel used in maintenance vehicles.No exact timeline on when the renovations and relocation have been announced at this time.D&L TrailIn a related matter, the commissioners awarded the apparent low bidder, Semmel Excavating Inc. of Allentown, with the contract for the Carbon County D&L Trail Connectivity Project Construction Services, at a total cost of $385,279 for four parts of the project.Last week, H. Scott Everett, D&L Trail manager, explained that the project bids included a base bid and three alternate bids for portions of the 165-mile trek that runs from Bristol to White Haven.The base bid includes work in East Penn Township along Route 895 and transitioning from the trail from the Lehighton section to the Marvin Gardens trail head.Alternate 1 includes completing a section of trail behind Red Castle Brewery in Lehighton and transitioning down to the Share the Road section on the trail up through the borough.Alternate 2 is the installation of signage on Riverview Road in East Penn Township.Alternate 3 is for installing signage connecting the trail from Lehighton to Bridge Street in Weissport.After these sections, only one portion remains, the pedestrian bridge across the Lehigh River, near the Old Mauch Chunk Train Station in Jim Thorpe. The county and D & L trail officials have been working on that proposal.