At the Permanent Building Committee’s (PBC) Thursday, June 1 meeting held in the Town Hall conference room, the committee heard the latest information regarding the Request for Proposal (RFP) documents that will be sent out to both architects and construction managers–at-risk for the Bridge Street Community Center project. The committee’s task was to review and finalize these RFPs, which have been on their docket since October 2016.
Christine Chipman, a construction attorney with Shipman and Goodwin, shared her expertise with the committee and made suggestions regarding changes and modifications to the document. The main objective of these changes/modifications is to create a contract that protects the Town from inflated project costs. Since the construction manager-at-risk (CMR) and architect method is a new way to oversee construction projects, the committee wanted to make sure the documents were complete.
The RFPs give the Town an increased level of confidence that the project will come in on budget since the job of the CMR and architect is to work together as they work on the conceptual design, the schematic design, design development and construction documents and administration of the project. The project doesn’t get more expensive than the money that’s available ($8.4 M) because all along the way, planning and costs go hand-in-hand. If one design is too costly, then modifications can be made early on to keep costs within the budget.
The RFPs provide the PBC with the costs to the town and gives a more transparent look at cost management that makes the process tighter and more manageable. The PBC agreed that this was a good way to keep costs contained.
The RFP still needs more updates and at this writing, the time frame looked like it would take another several weeks before the RFPs can go out to bid.