Oswego public-works project comes in under budget; board asks for cost estimate to enclose 30-foot breezeway

Frederick Quinn Corporation president Jack Hayes told the Village Committee that the public-works facility project attracted unusually strong contractor interest and that the bids came in under the board-approved construction budget, producing a favorable pricing outcome for the village.

Hayes said the team invited about 375 trade contractors and received 128 bids across 30 trade packages, then reviewed scope and responsiveness with Williams Architects and Public Works staff. "We went out and personally invited 375 different trade contractors to come bid on the job," Hayes said, and added that scope review meetings identified several bid errors so the team could determine the low responsive, responsible bidders.

The base bid plus selected alternates produced a construction figure Hayes presented as $24,395,180. He told trustees the bid day result was approximately $850,000 below the team's prior construction estimate; owner soft costs are roughly $3,000,000, he said. Hayes recommended adding an owner-purchased liquid distribution (oil and lube) system as an owner item and said those choices keep the project within the previously approved project authorization. The transcript did not include a single clean composite line for a final "total project cost," so the precise combined final total is not specified in the record provided.

Williams Architects project manager Kim Nigro presented the final site plan, interior renderings and exterior views, noting the design incorporates a textured south-facade "swoop" tied to the village logo and a palette that matches the existing facility. "We are on track, and we're able to accept the salt dome being the biggest alternate that we were hoping for to make it into the project," Nigro said.

Board members focused much of their discussion on the breezeway that connects the new and existing buildings. Trustees asked whether that roughly 30-foot space should be left open, covered with a canopy, or fully enclosed. Nigro and Hayes told trustees an enclosed corridor raises additional requirements—heating, lighting, changes to drainage and sprinkler-room coordination—and that site utilities (two main electrical feeds, a principal gas feed and storm/sanitary lines) run through the footprint, increasing complexity and cost.

"It's about 30 feet," Hayes said when asked for the separation between buildings, and he outlined the utilities and a trench drain that affect how water moves through the area. The design team and FQC said they had explored multiple options and that a canopy was the compromise chosen initially to avoid enlarging the project's square footage and utility relocations.

Trustees asked for an order-of-magnitude cost to enclose the passageway before the committee returns to the Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) agenda item. The board and consultants agreed FQC and Williams would provide a "smart estimate" within about two weeks so the board could decide while allowing the contractor procurement and early site work to proceed. Trustees discussed informal reference ranges during the meeting but did not commit to a decision pending the written estimate.

Board members raised additional items for staff to price as alternates, including higher-end Trex perimeter fencing (the team cited a maintenance-and-longevity rationale for the upgrade) and deicing solutions such as heated concrete or sidewalk ice-melt systems used at other municipal facilities. Hayes said two packages—doors and gas pumps—each received only one bid, a situation he attributed to public bidding requirements for bonding and insurance in those specialty trades.

Next steps: FQC and Williams will provide the requested cost estimate for enclosing the breezeway and return to the board with that information at the next GMP discussion. The Committee adjourned and planned to reconvene for the village board meeting after a short recess.