Library Construction Bid Comes in Close to Budget 

General Contractor (GC) bids for construction cost of the Jones Library Demolition/Expansion Project have come in with a low bid at $35,769,000 from Fontaine Bros. (just under the projected $36 million budget) and a second bid of $38,907,000 from J&J Construction (~$3 million over budget). Soft costs typically add another ~28% to these figures bringing the the total project cost to $45,784,320 or $49,800,960, respectively. The $3 million differential (a 9% spread) between the two bids exceeds that among the bids for the Fort River school project which ranged from $73.5 to $75.6 million (3% spread) The previous bidding in April 2024 produced a single GC bid from Fontaine Bros. for $42,742,00, nearly $7 million over budget. 

These results are not final. All electrical subcontractor bids were rejected last week by the project team because of “changes in scope” and are scheduled to be rebid with a due date of November 7. In the meantime, the GC bidders were instructed to carry an estimate in their bids of $3.3 million for electrical sub contractor work which was increased a few days later to $4 million. In addition, a Section 106 review is in progress which may require redesign and/or additional expenses that are not yet included in the bids. Contracts cannot be signed until this process is resolved and a Memorandum of Understanding is agreed to by state and federal authorities. It is also common for projects as complex as that proposed for the century old structure on a tight site to incur substantial cost overruns that aren’t known until construction is in progress. 

Fundraising has continued to lag with no additional funds reported since the summer and the Library still $900,000 in arrears for funds promised to the town by January 2024. Even if the cost of the project holds and all pending and pledged funds are received, there remains a fundraising gap of more than $7 million, which would fall to the town on top of any additional construction costs. When $46 million of borrowing was authorized by the Town Council in December 2023, it was without having been informed that $2 million in historic tax credits had been rejected and that a Section 106 review and approval was required for another $2 million in promised funds. 

A financial update on the project had been on the agenda for the Finance Committee on November 1, but the meeting was canceled after the bids were received and has not been rescheduled at the time of this writing.