Special Meeting tonight

Following over-budget bids, Camden-Rockport board to discuss new building financing

Mon, 05/21/2018 - 12:45pm

CAMDEN — At 6 p.m. this evening, May 21, the School Administrative District 28 board will convene to talk specifically about financial options for the new Camden-Rockport Middle School project. The meeting comes on the heels of last week’s revelation that bids for the $26 million voter-approved project arrived $5.8 million over what had been budgeted for the construction phase.

Read: Construction bids for new Camden-Rockport Middle School 26 percent over what's budgeted

Tonight’s meeting will take place in the Bus Barn Conference Room, at the Bus Barn on Lions Lane, where administrative offices are housed.

Minutes of the May 16 Building Committee are as follows:

Wednesday May 16, 2018

4:30-5:15 p.m.

Washington Street Conference Room

MINUTES

In attendance:

Anastasia Fischer

Bob Falciani

Emily Leblanc-McConnell

Will Gartley

Maria Libby

Two bids from potential general contractors were opened earlier in the day
1. Two potential contractors had previously dropped out due to other work
2. Both bids were considerably higher the budget and expected bond amount
3. Ledgewood bid $28.1 million; PC $29.8 million; the bond construction figure was 22.3 million, that included a contingency
4. Ledgewood was the lowest bid ($5.8 million over the budget)

Next steps were discussed to deal with the bids
1. First step is to review with Ledgewood where its budget differs from Oak Point’s to determine the opportunities to cut costs
2. Need to understand why there is such a discrepancy between the initial estimate from Oak Point Architects and the bid amount
3. Factors that likely contributed to escalated costs: phasing of demolition, increased cost of materials, scarcity of labor
4. Oak Point’s estimate was developed in the Spring of 2016, then communicated to the public during the 2016-17 school year prior to the 2017 vote. A lot has changed in that time
5. It was predicted last year that construction costs might rise by as much as 25 percent and that has happened, especially the price of steel
6. Options tossed about during the meeting, all hypothetically, included removing features (e.g. theater), Redesign the building, fundraise
7. At what point would a change require a new vote and/or going out to bid again? Will it be that much more expensive after more time?

1. Making changes and going out to bid again might not be the answer; as there is currently high demand for construction companies and prices might rise again
2. The committee chair, administration, architect, and owner’s rep will meet with Ledgewood on Monday to gain a better understanding of their estimated costs.

Next meeting
1. The next meeting will be rescheduled once Maria and Will have a better sense of what options are available to pursue. It will take some time to process, discuss, evaluate, etc.

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