The Worcester City Civic Center Commission on May 29 voted to accept several higher-than-expected construction bids and to confirm current contract authorization levels for the center's design and project-management teams.

Staff member Matt told the commission the low number of bidders and unusually high subcontract costs produced a single general-contractor bid of $614,444 for a trash-can enclosure, more than double the commission's previously approved estimate of $300,000. "We do believe that this trash room is something we just have to do," Matt said, and recommended the commission approve the higher amount.

The commission approved a motion to accept the $614,444 bid over the original estimate. Commissioners who voted on the record included Commissioner Giuffredo (yes), Commissioner Kevin Gould (yes), Commissioner McElroy (yes) and Commissioner Economo (yes); the motion passed.

The commission also approved a revised budget for fire-alarm work in the building. Staff said the original estimate was $200,000 and the bid returned about $208,000; the commission approved a motion to authorize up to $210,000 for the fire-alarm work so staff has a small contingency while finalizing schedules and contracts. Commissioner Chiafrito, Commissioner Gould, Commissioner McElroy and Commissioner Economo recorded yes votes on that motion.

Members approved $50,450 for geotechnical and sidewalk-testing work tied to a proposed change from a revolving door to double doors at a public entrance. Matt said the architect recommended geotechnical testing because the sidewalk heave could prevent new double doors from operating properly; the geotech work is phased and staff said the full $50,450 may not be required if initial testing reduces the scope. A motion to approve the $50,450 phased geotechnical work passed with recorded yes votes from Commissioner Giuffredo, Commissioner Gould, Commissioner McElroy and Commissioner Economo.

On professional services, the commission reviewed the cumulative, executed value for the architect's contract and approved the total presented by staff at $2,097,338 to date. Staff said a recent change order had reduced the current billed value to about $1,000,897 but that the commission's approval of the larger figure would allow staff to proceed without returning for incremental approvals while additional design amendments are finalized. Commissioners Giuffredo, Buol, McEvoy and Hanover voted to approve the architect total as presented.

Separately, the commission voted to increase the owner's project manager (OPM) authorization to $600,000 to provide flexibility for anticipated on-site construction administration and rising contractor rates. Staff said the working balance for OPM hours was about $400,000 at the time of the meeting and that $600,000 would provide capacity for upcoming summer projects; commissioners Chiafrito, McEvoy (recorded as McAvoy in the audio) and Economo voted yes on the motion.

Discussion and context

Commissioners and staff described the trash-room work as necessary to keep the building operating through the busy summer schedule and hockey season. Matt said other recent bids had been both under and over estimates: "The sound system actually came in nearly $600,000 less than our estimate," he noted, and cooling-tower bids were about $63,000 under estimate, but the trash-room bid was an outlier likely affected by low competition and supply-cost uncertainty tied to material price guarantees required of bidders.

On the architect and OPM items, staff said they will return to the commission with more precise design amendments and cost detail as specific proposals (for the arena elevator design, chiller options and exterior lighting) become available. Matt said he expected the elevator design proposal from Wesson & Sampson in a few weeks and a Populous proposal for an arena chiller and lower-level arena renovation soon.

Decisions versus direction

- Formal actions taken: approval of the trash-room contract amount ($614,444), authorization up to $210,000 for the fire-alarm contract, authorization of $50,450 for phased geotechnical work, approval of the architect contract value ($2,097,338) and authorization of $600,000 for OPM services. These were approved by recorded voice votes during the May 29 meeting.
- Direction to staff: proceed with contract execution and scheduling, coordinate kickoff meetings with the general contractor, architect and the Office of Business Management (OBM), and return to the commission with detailed cost and schedule information for the arena elevator and chiller proposals.

What was not decided

Staff and commissioners discussed alternatives (for example, installing temporary chiller equipment or delaying work) but no vote was taken to change the more significant project approaches beyond the specific budget approvals recorded above.

Next steps and scheduling

Staff said the trash-room contractor expects to mobilize in July for a two-month install window and that the cooling-tower project is planned to be completed by Sept. 15 to prepare for the hockey season. The commission set its next meeting for June 26 at 8 a.m.