Smithfield council approves entry into negotiations with Colliers after resident raises past billing concerns

The Smithfield Town Council voted to allow town staff to enter fee-structure negotiations with Colliers Project Leaders of Providence to serve as owner's project manager (OPM) for Stage 1 and 2 of the high school project, while reserving final contract approval for a later council and school committee vote.

The motion, read aloud by an unidentified council member, said the council would "approve entry into fee structure negotiations with the best qualified company, Colliers Project Leaders, located in Providence, Rhode Island to provide the services of owner's project manager, or PM, for projects associated with bridal stage 1 and 2." The motion carried after members moved, seconded and recorded 'Aye' votes.

Resident Tom Hodgkins urged the council to pause and review minutes from 2020–2021 before proceeding, alleging the recommended firm previously steered "about 4 to $5,000,000 worth of work" out of competitive bids into change orders and "overcharged the town for overhead and profit." Hodgkins said outside counsel later identified contract-drafting problems that contributed to the dispute and credited the former town manager with pushing back to limit costs.

School Superintendent Dawn Barth and Finance Director Melissa Devine responded that the current request is only to enter negotiations for Stage 1 and 2 — the planning and design submission phases required by the state — and emphasized that Stage 3 and 4 (where contractors are hired and construction is managed) are a separate procurement process. Officials noted the town faces state reimbursement timelines (Stage 1 submission by Feb. 15; Stage 2 by Sept. 15) and said Colliers was recommended because of experience preparing these submittals and prior work on emergency-improvement filings.

Council members debated whether to delay the vote to review earlier meeting minutes. One council member said he preferred to table the item until the Dec. 3 meeting; others argued delaying would push project timelines into later school years and could jeopardize emergency repairs. The council ultimately approved entry into negotiations with the explicit understanding that a negotiated contract would return for council and school committee approval.

The council did not record a full roll-call tally in the transcript excerpt provided; the motion was recorded as passing with council members answering 'Aye.'

Next steps: staff will begin negotiations with Colliers and any resulting contract or fee structure must be presented to the council and the school committee for final approval.