Building committee recommends multiple construction awards, forwards RTAs and school CD submission to council and school committee

The Middletown Building Committee on April 30 recommended awards for multiple construction packages and approved forwarding those recommendations to the town council and school committee for final authorization.

Owner's representative Colliers reported that the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) approved the high school 60% construction documents and that Colliers seeks committee approval to submit the elementary school 60% construction documents once Rhode Island Energy confirms lighting and HVAC incentives. “We are ready to build as far as RIDE concerned for the middle high school,” the Colliers representative said; the committee voted to submit the elementary school CD package to RIDE after the energy incentive details are added.

On contracting, the committee voted to recommend the following awards and actions to the town council and school committee: award materials testing and special inspections to Prime Consulting (recommended based on references, portal capability and Master Price Agreement compliance); approve a pre‑condition visual survey package to assess adjacent properties; award the concrete package to JL Marshall & Sons; award the structural steel package to Shepherd Steel Company; and award the site work package to DeGregorio Corporation with a subcontract value and a separate owner allowance for soils disposal. Reported award values and procurement notes included:

- Materials testing: recommended award to Prime Consulting; proposal and portal capability confirmed; bid amount included in presentation (proposal line item included incidental costs). (RTA recommended.)

- Pre‑condition surveying: recommended award to Follow the Associates (visual exterior survey of adjacent properties; recommended amount referenced at the meeting). (RTA recommended.)

- Concrete: Colliers and Gilbane recommended JL Marshall & Sons at $5,427,000 against a 60% budget of $7,375,797; the committee rejected certain voluntary alternates (including column grouting) and held alternates 1–9 for later decision.

- Structural steel: Colliers and Gilbane recommended Shepherd Steel Company at $7,052,500 against a 60% budget of $8,689,079; the committee accepted some subcontractor‑proposed safety items, rejected the roof‑screen alternate (the planning board had asked staff to consider screens but later relieved the team of that requirement), held the elevator alternate for a future decision, and held an owner allowance for a possible perforated riser gauge change.

- Site work: Colliers and Gilbane recommended DeGregorio Corporation; the RTA total of $14,849,000 includes a recommended subcontract value of $12,174,000 and an owner allowance of $2,675,000 to cover potential unsuitable soil disposal or reuse contingencies. Colliers reported detailed borings indicate only limited areas exceed residential thresholds and that commingling and reuse on the adjacent Hughes/Dorm property (subject to town engineer review) could greatly reduce disposal costs.

Committee members discussed MBE/WBE participation and tracking: several bids show varying MBE/WBE percentages across packages. Colliers and Gilbane said they will add MBE/WBE tracking to the alternates/values trending log and continue road‑map actions to meet the project’s aggregate minority/women participation goals required by RIDE.

Committee members approved motions recommending the awards and the site‑specific allowances, rejecting some voluntary alternates and holding others for later decision. Those recommendations will go to the town council (on the Monday docket after the meeting) and to the school committee for final approval; Colliers noted timing will be adjusted so the school committee can consider the RTAs shortly after the building committee’s recommendation.

On schedule, Colliers said the team is targeting a groundbreaking in early June (week of June 9) and asked the committee to note potential impacts to graduation parking if site fencing is installed in late May. The committee set its next regular RTA meeting for May 9 to stay in the two‑week review cycle.