Land use committee refers $4.65 million GMP amendment for Norwalk Community Recreation Center to Common Council

Council member Barbara Smith called a special meeting of the Land Use and Building Management Committee on Jan. 7 and referred to the Common Council a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) amendment authorizing Mayor Harry W. Rilling to execute an amendment with Newfield Construction Group LLC not to exceed $4,645,770 for the Norwalk Community Recreation Center at 98 South Main Street.

The amendment would finalize trade contracts and costs for the project. Committee members said the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) approved a special appropriation the night before, and staff walked the committee through reductions taken to bring the bids closer to budget.

The item matters because the city had previously issued an early GMP to secure $6 million in funding that carried a deadline. Committee members and staff described a value-engineering effort that reduced the project by about $1.1 million, but an additional $2.45 million remained needed to “make the project whole” compared with earlier estimates. Alan (city staff) said the amendment before the committee represents the balance of trade contracts after those reductions and the contingency adjustments.

Alan (city staff) told the committee the amendment’s financial terms include total trade costs of $3,570,686, fixed fees of $264,260 (1.95 percent), a contingency of $192,581 (1.5 percent) that would revert to the city at project completion, and general conditions of $618,243, for a total not to exceed $4,645,770. He said funds for the amendment are available in the accounts noted in the staff memo and confirmed that the BET had approved the special appropriation.

Committee members asked about schedule, scope reductions and implementation risk. Alan said construction is expected to begin in February and that the team anticipates completion between December 2025 and February 2026; Joanne (city staff) confirmed the schedule would extend into early 2026 by design. Alan said the team identified roughly $1.1 million in reductions by dropping some systems items, eliminating unnecessary cameras, deferring some finish items and revising some IT allowances. He added that an FF&E allowance of approximately $360,000 remains in the contract and could be adjusted if residual contingency becomes available.

On risk and unknown conditions, Alan said the existing building was built in 1983 and that environmental hazards such as asbestos or lead are unlikely. He said geotechnical borings and test pits had been completed; they identified “polluted” (backfill) soils in specific spots, not hazardous contamination, and allowed for leaving some materials on site or addressing them with a $130,000 allowance in the contract. He said Newfield has a track record on recent city projects of managing GMPs without returning for additional capital beyond contingency.

Council member Greg Burnett asked whether the available contingencies would cover unforeseen conditions once demolition and excavation began. Alan said the project retains roughly 4–5 percent of contingency across owner and contract contingency lines and that his expectation, based on testing and past projects, is that the contingency should be sufficient.

The committee voted unanimously to refer the GMP amendment to the Common Council. The committee’s next steps include forwarding the contract amendment to the Common Council and coordinating related special-appropriation approvals through Finance and Planning and Zoning as required.

Implementation notes: construction is expected to start in February 2025; schedule and final completion dates will be confirmed to the council when the construction contract is posted and the contractor mobilizes. Further details on which allowance lines might be adjusted (FF&E, IT) are included in the Newfield GMP package provided to the committee.