Lakeville committee approves multiple change orders as police station construction advances

The Lakeville Police Station Building Committee on Sept. 12 approved several change orders and heard a construction progress update for the new police station.

Taylor, the project representative, told the committee that the slab has been poured and “all the steel is up,” and that contractors have focused on underground infrastructure, electrical and plumbing under slab areas. “The contractor overall is on schedule. . . he’s probably 2 or 3 weeks ahead overall schedule,” Taylor said. Material testing and structural-engineer inspections have been completed and produced no major issues, Taylor added.

The committee reviewed a budget/PCO (potential change order) update prepared for the Board of Selectmen that shows several recent changes to the general construction line. Taylor said change order 2 was a roughly $888 addition for truss modifications related to HVAC coordination and that total changes to the general-construction line to date are $14,006.17, with total changes against contingency of $38,005.22.

Committee members discussed a set of recommended change-order items, including upsizing a fire-service line, changing waste-tank venting, a value-engineering decision on countertops, a slide-gate operator and related IT/security work, roof-drain piping options, a credit for an HVAC-coil coating, procurement of propane tanks, and changes to the sally-port floor drains. The structural engineer and material-testing firm inspected recent work and reported no outstanding structural or materials concerns.

Votes at a glance

- Change order No. 4 — increase fire-service line from 4-inch to 6-inch (recommended cost noted in packet: $555). Motion to approve made and seconded; the committee voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously.

- Change order No. 6 — change waste-tank venting from 2-inch to 4-inch (engineer and plumbing inspector required 4-inch). Motion to approve made and seconded; the committee voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously.

- Change order No. 8 — slide gate operator (operator and excavation included; the security/vendor (Cygnet) IT portion of about $16,007.80 will be handled as a separate amendment to the security contract). Motion to approve No. 8 carried; committee discussion noted the IT/security portion will be documented as a separate change/amendment and included in the recommendation to the Board of Selectmen.

- Change order No. 10 — credit of $4,700 for omission of an HVAC-coil coating deemed unnecessary; motion to accept credit carried unanimously.

- Change order No. 11 — procurement and installation of propane tanks, all-in price $22,003.75; committee approved the change order by motion and vote.

- Change order No. 12 — coiling door for the evidence-storage cage in the outbuilding was rejected after the committee adopted a no-cost reconfiguration of the cage that met department needs.

- Change order No. 13 — revise sally-port floor drains (switch to a circular drain with center outlet) for $2,873.59; the change order was approved by motion and vote.

- Payments/invoices — the committee approved the monthly payment recap and a package of invoices including AP Whitaker (general construction) for $269,312.65, Jakinsky Humes (architect/engineering) $7,000, Pomeroy (owner’s project manager) $14,476, geotechnical oversight $4,448.16, material testing $5,949.86 and smaller items. A motion to accept and pay the listed invoices carried unanimously.

Committee discussion and clarifications

- Countertops: A value-engineering item proposed switching laminate counters to a quartz solid surface. Initial pricing had been quoted at $7,723; a later price review returned a $55,550 figure for the full change. Committee members said they did not need to decide that night and requested a square-foot breakout before voting.

- Roof drains: The site engineer’s drawings showed roof-drain routing lines without sizes or specific connections; the contractor had not carried those items. The committee instructed staff to circulate options and a recommended approach (not all drains must run to the bioretention swale) and to share details with members before approval of the related change order.

- Propane: The committee approved an all-in installation price for two 1,000-gallon tanks rather than a single 2,000-gallon tank after receiving comparative quotes; tanks will be buried in sand with tie-downs and underground connections to be installed as part of the work.

- Sally-port drains: The originally specified rectangular floor drains had side outlets that would have left very little concrete cover; the committee approved switching to a circular drain with center outlet after engineers confirmed hydraulic capacity.

What’s next

Taylor said owner-vendor procurement is ongoing (radio bid to go out by month’s end; furniture vendors and security vendor meetings are scheduled) and closeout documentation is in progress. The committee’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Oct. 3. The committee will forward recommended change orders and contract amendments to the Board of Selectmen as required for final authorization.