Safety building costs meet predictions
By Karen Mann Journal Correspondent

The Public Building Safety Committee received a cost estimate for a new building on target with what they predicted in September.

The estimate came in at $4.7 million. This includes $4.3 million for the building and $435,000 for site work.

"You should have some relief that it is pretty much what was said we would get back in September," said Curtis Edgin, the architect from Caolo & Bieniek Associates Inc., who designed the building plan.

Edgin also presented the committee with three alternates, which would be additional projects done during construction. These were not included in the cost estimate, and would be a separate expense included in the bids on the project.

The committee rated the alternates and decided adding a locker room for the police department would be the top priority. This would cost another $150,000.

Police Chief Loring Barrett Jr. said if he had to pick, putting in the locker room would be more important than building two more jail cells. The plan currently calls for one cell.

"One cell is one more than I have now," said Barrett. "The room is there for two others [to be added later]."

Building three jail cells instead of one would cost another $65,000. The committee listed this as the third priority.

Trying to be fair to both departments, the second and fourth alternates each dealt with the Fire/EMS Department.

Committee member and firefighter Jason Bergeron said he would like to see a training room built for his department rather than the locker room. Installing the training room would cost $113,000.

The committee decided to take the line item for exterior masonry out of the cost estimate and make it alternate number five. This took $50,000 off the price.

"We need a functioning home for these two departments," said Selectman Christopher Gagnon, who chairs the committee. "We need an interior to do that. It is more important to get the functioning aspects of the building to get it up and running than to have it look pretty."

The committee took two more items out of the estimate. They reduced the money allocated for landscaping from $25,000 to $10,000, saying that bushes and shrubbery could be added later. They also removed $48,000 to finish the blacktop for the same reason.

In total, the committee removed $63,000 from the $4.7 million cost estimate. If the committee were to include all five alternates, the cost would increase by $528,000.

The estimate does not include soft costs, such as architect fees, furniture, fixtures, and equipment. The committee was setting up a meeting with Town Administrator Kevin Paicos to work out these numbers.

Edgin recommended adding a 5 percent contingency to the project cost, or about $300,000.

While no definite dates were set during the meeting, Edgin recommended making the request for proposals available the week of January 29, with a deadline of the last week of February or first week of March.

The committee decided if they were to follow that timetable, construction on the building could start in the middle or end of April.