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Lowell City Council approves $38.85 million supplemental borrowing for Lowell High School after heated debate
Summary
The council approved a $38,850,848 supplemental borrowing for Lowell High School to cover remaining construction and renovation costs, including a $14.75 million contingency. Councilors pressed project staff about unforeseen asbestos, a $2 million basement-floor replacement and the debt’s estimated tax impact.
The Lowell City Council on Dec. 2 approved an additional $38,850,848 to the Lowell High School project budget after extended questioning from councilors about contingency, unforeseen conditions and future taxpayer costs. The borrowing supplements a previous authorization and represents the total project budget approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).
Mr Dowd, the project representative, told the council the contingency was calculated two ways: a 12.5 percent contingency applied to the remaining phase work and a trade-by-trade estimate with allowances for closeout and potential claims, which together yielded $14,750,000 as a conservative contingency figure. “We sat down trade by trade … and added closeout and a safety factor,” he said in explanation of the estimate.
Several counci…
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