Lakeville committee creates change-order subcommittee and advances construction contracts as site work begins

Taylor (staff member) opened the Wednesday, May 2 Police Station Building Committee meeting and reported that site work has started: “They started work. They started clear cutting today and put up the fence,” Taylor said.

The committee heard introductions for Bob Rice and Mike Fortunato, who were presented as on‑site construction representatives. Bob Rice is completing the Wellfleet police station and is planned to serve as the on‑site project manager for Lakeville once Wellfleet is finished; Mike Fortunato, who just completed the Orleans police station, will provide interim coverage during the contractor’s ramp up.

Committee members reviewed early construction activity and schedule details from the preconstruction meeting. Taylor said the contractor AP Whitaker issued a notice to proceed and began clearing the site; stumping was expected to begin the following week. Taylor and others said the team hopes to get the building enclosed before next winter.

On utilities, the committee discussed the waterline extension tied to the police station. Taylor said the notice of award for the waterline went out the previous week and that bonds and insurance are being assembled by Oliveira (contractor). Taylor told the committee that town meeting voters approved paying for the waterline from the water stabilization fund; in the meeting transcript the amount was stated as "allocating a $170 for that." The committee did not clarify in the meeting whether that figure represents dollars, thousands, or another unit; the figure remains not specified in committee records.

Procurement and consultant approvals were advanced by committee votes. The committee approved a six‑week construction administration contract for Ken Mata for the waterline at a total cost of $6,500 (described in the meeting as $1,100 per week). The committee also accepted Tibbetts (material testing) for construction testing after staff checked references and procurement compliance, and accepted WSP as the project commissioning agent at WSP’s quoted price of $14,002.50 (benchmarked against two higher quotes). Each of those approvals was moved, seconded and carried unanimously at the meeting.

The committee also voted to purchase the specified generator from South Shore Generator (direct purchase) and authorized moving forward with that vendor’s current proposal; the motion carried unanimously.

A primary outcome of the meeting was formation of a standing change‑order approval subcommittee. The committee nominated and approved Tim, Nate and Frank to serve on the change‑order approval committee and amended the motion to set a per‑change‑order approval threshold of $10,000 for that subcommittee. The committee discussed safeguards — keeping a running log of subcommittee approvals and reporting those logs at the full committee meetings — and a plan to ask the Board of Selectmen to delegate authority to the building committee to enable timely approvals. The committee voted unanimously to create the subcommittee, to assign the three members, and to adopt the $10,000 per‑change‑order limit.

Committee members discussed requisition and payment processing, agreeing the building committee will receive and review monthly requisitions and supporting invoices and will coordinate with the Board of Selectmen to authorize payments on the town warrant. The committee set a target schedule of monthly meetings (first Wednesday of each month, with a July exception) to align invoice review and payment timing.

Other administrative items included approval of the action log and the meeting minutes from March 20 and April 4; approval of submitted invoices; and scheduling a tentative groundbreaking/photo event in coordination with the Board of Selectmen (target week of May 22, to be confirmed with the master calendar and AP Whitaker for site safety).

Votes at a glance: Ken Mata construction administration (waterline) — motion to approve the $6,500 proposal (mover: Taylor); outcome: approved unanimously. Award Tibbetts — motion to accept Tibbetts’ proposal for construction testing; outcome: approved unanimously. Commissioning (WSP) — motion to accept WSP as commissioning agent at $14,002.50; outcome: approved unanimously. Change‑order approval subcommittee — motion to create subcommittee and nominate Tim, Nate and Frank, amended to add a $10,000 per‑order approval limit; outcome: approved unanimously. Generator purchase (South Shore Generator) — motion to proceed with current proposal; outcome: approved unanimously. Approve invoices and meeting minutes — motions approved unanimously.

The committee emphasized the importance of maintaining a running log of change‑order activity and of presenting that log at each full meeting so the Board of Selectmen and the public can track cumulative use of delegated authority. Committee members and staff noted typical sources of change orders (owner additions, unforeseen site conditions) and discussed the design team's expectation that design‑related change orders should remain low.

The meeting closed after routine business and a brief site‑safety comment about the construction fence on Bedford Street; committee staff agreed to review sight lines and secure fence sections.

The committee scheduled regular monthly meetings to help align requisition review and payment processing and to keep the contractor’s cash flow moving on schedule.