Select Board hears higher bids, added contingency for new Our Island Home; finance plan proposes mix of borrowing and retained earnings

Select Board members were updated April 9 on final bids and a revised budget for the proposed new Our Island Home (OIH), the town-managed nursing facility project. Project designer Craig Piper and owners’ project manager John Lemieux told the board bid packages returned higher than earlier estimates, prompting additional allowances and contingencies.

The project team said trade subcontractor responses were thin on bid day and some trade envelopes came back far higher than anticipated, pushing the construction number up. "We've gone out to the marketplace, and the marketplace has come back," John Lemieux said, summarizing the shift from estimates to actual bid figures. The team said a tariff allowance of $4.5 million and an $800,000 allowance for last-minute HDC comments were added, and an overall owner contingency (5% on the project) was included, for a combined contingency pool of roughly $10 million.

Why it matters: the Select Board and voters will decide whether to authorize the additional borrowing and other funding needed to move the project forward. Project leaders said permitting is nearly complete and that construction would begin only after required votes and approvals.

Detai…