South Berwick awards town hall construction management contract to Charter Brothers

The South Berwick Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday to award the town hall renovation construction management contract to Charter Brothers and authorized the town manager to sign the contract.

Council Chair Valerie presented the procurement background, saying the town received eight proposals and interviewed three finalists. "We received 8 proposals," she said, and the finalists were Charter Brothers, Allied Cook and Wright Ryan.

The decision came after councilors described a close set of interviews. Councilor Anne said the finalists were "very close" on qualifications and praised firms for experience with historic buildings. Councilor Ralph said one firm's presentation "answered each individual question" and cited attention to detail and repeat work as deciding factors. After a motion to award the contract to Charter Brothers and a second, the council voted 5-0 to approve the award and later voted 5-0 to authorize the town manager to sign the contract.

Councilors emphasized the firms' referrals and on-site assessments during their interviews, and the council asked staff to proceed with finalizing the contract and coordinating with project consultants. Town Manager Tim said staff will work with Charter Brothers to get the contract reviewed and initiated next week so work can begin on items awaiting council input.

The council did not yet discuss contract dollar amounts or a final project schedule in public session; those details were not specified in the meeting record. Charter Brothers representatives attended the meeting and thanked the council for the opportunity.

The council also moved related schedule items for Oak Point (the project's design consultant). Oak Point had originally projected a 95% submission for a June meeting but now is expected to move that milestone to July 22 because of scheduling and coordination needs, the town manager said.