Finance committee forwards Sheridan Construction for cold-storage rehab construction-manager role

The finance committee on April 22 recommended Sheridan Construction as construction manager-at-risk for the city27s grant-funded repair of the cold-storage section of the bus barn on Main Avenue and forwarded the selection to the full council for final approval.

Deb Davis, director of engineering, told the committee the project is funded by a grant the city pursued in 2023 to reconstruct the unheated, leaking cold storage building used to store buses. "This grant ... is for the reconstruction of that," Davis said, describing a structure with a failing roof and no heat. She said staff hired an architecture and engineering firm, produced 35% design drawings, and used a qualifications-based selection process required by the Federal Transit Administration portion of the grant.

Davis said the city received five qualification proposals and interviewed three firms. The selection committee, which included city staff and consultants, determined Sheridan Construction was the most complete and qualified respondent and then opened its pricing; the bid aligned with the independent cost estimate prepared before pricing was revealed. "They27re right in line with what we expected," Davis said.

Under the construction manager-at-risk approach, Davis said, the construction manager joins early to help value-engineer the project and control costs during pre-construction services so the city remains within grant limits. The committee moved and seconded the staff recommendation and had no recorded objection; the matter will be considered by the full Bangor City Council.

Next steps include full council review of the recommendation and, if approved, pre-construction services with the selected firm to finalize plans and pricing before awarding the construction contract.