SOUTH PORTLAND – PC Construction Co. will likely be given the contract to modernize South Portland High School if the contractor and the city can agree on $4 million worth of design changes and cost reductions to bring the project in line with the budget approved by voters.

School board members voted Wednesday night to authorize Superintendent Suzanne Godin to begin negotiating with the company.

Once that process is complete, the proposed contract will be brought before the school board and, ultimately, the City Council for final approval.

Board members and their consultant, Daniel Cecil, principal in the Auburn-based architectural firm Harriman, said they are confident the contractor and the city can find ways to reduce costs without significantly altering the project.

“We are disappointed in the numbers, but we will close that gap,” Cecil told the board. “I do believe, on opening day, you will be very happy with the school you have.”

In November 2010, South Portland residents approved borrowing $41.5 million, of which $39.3 million was to be spent on construction and renovation.

The project will update the high school’s mechanical and security systems, cover the cost of renovating Beal Gym and the main wing of classrooms, and create new learning commons, cafeteria and lecture hall.

Bids were opened last week, and Vermont-based PC Construction came in with the low bid of $43.2 million — $4 million above what voters approved for construction.

Three other companies, all based in New Hampshire, submitted bid proposals ranging from $45.9 million to $46.6 million.

School officials said they were disappointed with the bids but will not be deterred by the higher than anticipated costs.

Cecil attributed the high bids to factors including increases in gasoline and copper prices, and a shortage of subcontractors, who have become so busy with other projects that they are unavailable.

One school board member, James Gilboy, said he would support asking voters for additional funds if it meant the city could incorporate five components — all proposed add-ons — to the high school renovation project.

“I’d like to see all five alternatives in the project because that is the ideal project for South Portland kids,” Gilboy said.

Godin and other members said they could not support that because the city would have to go back to the voters for approval to borrow more money.

The five add-ons — which would cost about $450,000 in total — would have been a new equipment storage building, courtyard landscaping, a new greenhouse, an upgrade to the kitchen area and a sports field irrigation system.

Ralph Baxter, who chairs the high school building committee, told the board, “We have to be patient and we have to persevere. And yes, there is going to be some tough decisions to make.”

Cecil said the sides will meet again soon to work out the details of some of the reductions that must be made. Those might include scaling back the size of the expansion, changing materials or operating systems, and some outright cuts.

The project is expected to be completed by December 2014, with the construction set to start in April.

Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be reached at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com

 

Copy the Story Link