North Smithfield Council votes to use construction-manager-at-risk for police station renovation

The North Smithfield Town Council voted on June 2 to move forward with a construction-manager-at-risk delivery method for the town's police station renovation project.

Consultants from ECC, including Brian Fergan and Inga Knox, presented the council with three standard public-construction options'design-bid-build, construction-manager-at-risk (CMAR) and design-build'and recommended focusing on CMAR given the project's schedule and phasing needs. "We're sort of putting this off to the side and really talking and concentrating on the CMAR versus design-bid-build," Fergan said, adding the town was "a little too late" to switch to design-build because design documents are nearly complete.

The nut of the consultants' recommendation was that CMAR gives the town an open-book procurement process, earlier contractor involvement for phasing, and a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) structure that can reduce change orders and schedule risk. ECC explained CMAR allows the construction manager to prequalify subcontractors, coordinate complex phasing and provide detailed project controls. "With the CMAR, the change order level tends to be minimal, if not zero," Fergan said.

Councilors pressed on schedule and cost. ECC said staff would prepare a request for qualifications/proposals within weeks and aim to have a construction manager under contract by July, assuming the council confirms the procurement route and the final construction documents are issued. ECC noted CMAR can appear to have higher upfront general-conditions costs, but the open-book GMP and trade-level transparency tend to limit back-end change orders.

Council members cited phasing complexity as a key reason to prefer CMAR. One councilor said the CMAR model offered "flexibility and ability" to move parts of the project while other portions were still being designed or funded. The council then moved to a formal vote on the recommendation.

A motion to proceed with a construction-manager-at-risk project delivery system for the police station project carried on a roll-call vote with all recorded members voting in favor (Beauregard: yes; Cristoforo: yes; O'Hara: yes; Punchak: yes; Alves: yes).

What happens next: ECC will prepare and advertise an RFQ/RFP for CMAR firms. The consultants estimated a three-week response window in summer and projected a construction manager on board by July if procurement proceeds on the timetable discussed. The council directed staff and consultants to return with procurement documents and a schedule update at the next available meeting.

The council's vote authorizes staff to pursue CMAR procurement; it does not, by itself, award a construction contract or fix a construction budget.