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Needham committee awards theater sound and lighting contracts, approves related invoices and a change order
Summary
The Permanent Public Building Committee awarded a base contract to Anise Electrical for Newman Theater sound and lighting, approved related invoices and a change order, and flagged tight contingencies on the project budget.
The Permanent Public Building Committee on June 9 approved awarding the Newman Theater sound and lighting general‑contract work to Anise Electrical and approved several project invoices and a small change order.
The committee voted to award Anise Electrical the general contractor portion of the Newman sound and light improvements with a base amount recorded in committee materials as approximately $178,000. Building design staff said Anise and its systems subcontractor Pro AV Systems attended bid briefings and that both firms have capacity for the work; staff also noted both Anise and Pro AV are certified WBEs.
Brandon (staff) summarized the bid results and said the bids came in “nested together” and while the lowest bids exceeded the town’s cost estimate, staff and the designer felt the bids reflected accurate construction pricing. The meeting materials showed the project contingency was less than 10 percent of the general‑contract budget; staff told the committee the contingency is approximately $142,000 (the materials gave a similar figure). The project contains an alternate (larger backstage and booth touchpads) recommended by the IT department that had not been accepted in the base bid; staff said the town could supply that equipment later and postpone that purchase if needed.
The committee also approved a design change order (PSS from Hugh Shot) for Newman theater sound in the amount of $32,000 from the architect’s budget, and approved invoice payments including ViewShot for May 2025 services ($8,000) and Project Dodd for big‑hosting and purchasing services ($953.28).
Why it matters: committee members and staff said the project will be tight on contingency and that coordination with IT and the school department will be required if additional access‑control or AV equipment must be purchased. Brandon told the committee the project team will continue coordination to avoid change orders where possible.
Votes recorded on the matter were roll‑call affirmative. Staff recommended continuing coordination with IT, and the contract award formally moves procurement to the construction phase.
No timeline changes were announced at the meeting beyond standard next steps for contracting and construction scheduling.
