Lawrenceburg approves riverfront construction documents, clears preconstruction payments and contract terms

Lawrenceburg's Board of Works voted Feb. 3 to approve the formal contract documents that will govern the city's Riverfront project, authorizing preconstruction payments already made and establishing how the construction manager and two architecture teams will work together once the project reaches guaranteed maximum price (GMP) stage.

City staff told the board the vote covered the A201/A133/A133 exhibit package that defines the construction-manager-at-risk (CMC) relationship with Maxwell Construction, the wet-side architect Moffett Nickel, and the dry-side architect American Construction Point. The documents set Maxwell's preconstruction fee at $15,222 and list a lump-sum preconstruction compensation figure of $136,998 in other contract language; staff said they would double-check how those amounts flow against previously approved CMC authorizations. The documents also specify Maxwell's fee as a percentage of the GMP: 3.0% for wet-side work and 2.25% for dry-side work.

Why it matters: approving these documents does not commit the city to a total construction price. City staff said the GMP will be produced later, after outstanding permits and approvals are in hand. The approved package lets the city keep the architecture and construction teams working under formal terms so the project can move from design toward a capped price and schedule once federal and state permitting is complete.

Key points from the discussion

- Delivery method and roles: Staff explained the project will use a construction-manager-at-risk delivery. Maxwell Construction will perform preconstruction and will be the construction manager at risk; Moffett Nickel will perform the wet-side architecture and American Construction Point the dry-side architecture. The contracts allocate design and oversight duties among those firms and set out procedures for architect review of pay applications and for dispute resolution.

- Fees and preconstruction payments: Maxwell's preconstruction fee was identified as $15,222; separate contract language lists a lump-sum preconstruction compensation of $136,998. Councilors raised whether those amounts are included in earlier CMC authorizations; staff said much of the preconstruction work has already been performed and paid under prior arrangements but that they would verify the accounting and bring any clarifications back to the board.

- Termination and risk: The contract language includes an early termination provision: if the city terminates for convenience and the work is less than half complete, Maxwell would be entitled to cost plus a $100,000 early-termination payment; if more than 50% complete, staff said Maxwell would receive cost only. A city staff member summarized industry practice: "There's no way any construction company would take on a project like this" without such protections, given opportunity costs and the specialized work.

- Insurance and bonds: Insurance and bond coverages were presented as reviewed by a third party (Sykes); staff said the coverages and bonds were vetted and acceptable. The package includes standard performance and payment bond requirements and insurance schedules tied to different types of on-site risk.

- GMP contingencies and permitting: Staff said a GMP cannot be finalized until the city receives required approvals, including a letter of record from LCD (as discussed in staff remarks) and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 408 authorization. If the city chooses not to accept the GMP when produced, project work would stop; staff said the contract language protects the city from paying construction-phase fees before GMP approval.

Board response and next steps

Council members pressed staff for clearer tracking of amounts paid and amounts remaining; staff responded that exhibit D (scope) and the appended architect contracts include line-item breakdowns and that most pre-GMP expenditures are already documented. The board approved the documents by voice vote. City staff said they will return with the GMP for formal approval when permits and the bidding of top-tier subcontractors are complete.

Ending

The approval formalizes work already under way and prepares the city to receive a GMP when permitting and subcontractor pricing allow. The board did not approve any construction GMP or change orders at the Feb. 3 meeting; those will require separate board review and a future vote.