Harpswell emergency services building project about $1 million over target

The Emergency Services Building Committee met Sept. 24 to review updated cost estimates showing the project running roughly $1 million above its $6 million target, driven mainly by higher-than-expected site work. Members agreed to keep the current building design and location, move ahead with planning board permitting, and look for savings through value engineering and a hard bid.

Key points

• Updated estimates put construction at about $5 million and site work at about $1.2 million, with soft costs near $800,000, roughly $1 million over the $6 million goal.
• Two independent site subcontractors returned similar numbers, which the committee took as a sign the drawings are solid but that site costs are genuinely high.
• Members agreed the building design is already lean and that the site work, not the building, is driving the overage.
• The committee approved the minutes of the last meeting.
• Discussion covered a possible federal earmark of about $1.5 million, with staff noting the money depends on Congress passing a budget and that USDA paperwork has many steps.
• Members raised deferring items such as a generator, SCBA filling equipment, fitness equipment, and furniture, and noted the town already has a cascade system and compressor that could be used.

Next steps

• Silas will aim for a November planning board submission, possibly December.
• Crews will stake out building corners on site and do more probes to better understand ledge depth under the foundation.
• The committee will develop a list of value engineering and cost reduction ideas for the next meeting.
• Staff will continue USDA paperwork and track the federal budget process for the earmark.
• Follow-up with Life Flight on the helipad remains pending.

Read the full transcript