Building committee weighs cuts after permit fees push Memorial expansion toward shortfall

The Regional School District 13 building committee on July 8 heard that the Memorial renovation and expansion project is facing a tighter budget than expected and discussed which bid alternates to cut to restore contingency.

Marnie Liska of STV reported that the project currently shows a shortfall of $181,000 and that projected field changes could total about $358,000. She said the owner contingency is $1,500,000, of which $1,200,000 is already committed, leaving roughly $284,000 uncommitted and prompting a recommendation for a conservative approach: "So, currently, our project budget with the award of the roofing package is currently showing a shortfall of $181,000," Liska said.

Project staff and the construction manager, Jay Lucarelli of LNG, described ongoing site work and a slight schedule delay they said could be recovered by weekend work. Lucarelli said drainage and site preparations for some alternates are already included in the base work and that certain finish items could be deferred: "All the drainage is in the base bed ... so we're good there," he said when the outdoor classroom alternate was discussed.

Committee members said an unexpected set of municipal permit fees — discussed during the meeting as roughly $600,000 in total town fees — have made previously approved value-engineering and cuts insufficient. Howard Weisberg, speaking for the building committee, cited a state statute (referred to in the meeting as "7-401") that the committee reviewed, which states regional school districts are considered municipalities under municipal finance; he said the committee hopes the town will account for that designation in its treatment of fees.

The committee identified three primary alternates under consideration to address the shortfall: canopy alternate #4, the outdoor classroom (site-work alternate, discussed at about $275,000), and a reduction in the proposed pickleball/tennis courts and associated lighting. Lucarelli said eliminating canopy number 4 and value-engineering the outdoor classroom could together yield significant savings; he reported an early steel-only figure for canopy work of about $83,000 and suggested that reworking finishes on the outdoor classroom could lower its cost materially.

Members discussed trade allowances in the GMP — Liska said the GMP includes about $689,000 of current value management and at least $530,000 of trade allowances that are likely to be consumed — and urged the project team to reissue and refine the list of potential value-engineering items. One committee member said it was important to preserve a higher contingency for this stage of construction, suggesting a target closer to $600,000–$800,000 if possible.

The committee also reviewed process concerns: staff said they had gone to court that morning and a judge ordered third-party mediation through the courts; mediation is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks but will not delay the need to pay most permit fees now. Committee members cautioned that withholding permit payments would likely delay the project and could trigger fines or other consequences.

No vote was taken to accept or reject any bid alternates at the July 8 meeting. The committee asked the project team to assemble a prioritized list of feasible alternates and updated pricing (including breakdowns for the outdoor classroom and canopy), with pricing to be delivered in the coming days so the committee can vote on which alternates to accept at its next meeting.

Actions taken at the meeting were limited to procedural items: the agenda was approved by voice vote and the committee adjourned; the building committee did not accept any alternates during this session.