Williamstown Fire District Counting Down to Construction Start Date
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — If all goes according to plan, the town's new fire station will be under construction in less than a month.
Wednesday's meeting of the fire district's Building Committee was filled with signs of progress. Plans for a Sept. 4 groundbreaking were mentioned, the building permit is in, the committee decided to scale back its monthly meeting schedule to a quarterly "check-in" and, perhaps the best news of all, the project continues to be on budget.
The district's construction adviser, Bruce Decoteau, provided the committee with a number of updates in a brief session at the current fire house on Water Street.
Among other things, Decoteau reported that the district and its owners project manager manager are close to finalizing a guaranteed maximum price with general contractor Consigli Construction.
"We have a fairly good idea where it will land," Decoteau said. "It will be in the neighborhood of $17.9 million.
"At $17.9 million, that still allows us to maintain a roughly 5 percent contingency. I'm comfortable with that."
And just less than $18 million for construction, added to design work and other soft costs, keeps the Main Street fire station project under the $22.5 million authorized by district voters in an overwhelming vote last year.
Maintaining that budget has sometimes led to some tough choices for the Building Committee and the Prudential Committee, the elected body that oversees the district and appointed the building group.
But on Wednesday, Decoteau reported that if current cost estimates hold, the project will be able to include at least one item on the "add alternate" list that went out with the bid. Current plans are to bring an exterior storage shed into the project, he said.
Other "extras" may be brought in as well; those decisions will come down the road.
"That [$17.9 million figure] does not include a metal roof," Decoteau said. "We'll delay that decision until we get into construction for a while to decide if we can afford it."
Decoteau said he does not have a definite construction schedule from Consigli, but he continues to hope that major work will begin in early September.
He told the committee that he expects to see the footings in, the foundation laid and steel start to go up on the station before this winter, and he does not anticipate a real break in construction for the winter months.
Decoteau would not commit to a completion date but said to expect a roughly 15-month timeline, which would make the building move-in ready by late 2025 or early 2026.
After his presentation on the status of the project, Building Committee Chair K. Elaine Neely started to wrap up the meeting by suggesting a September meeting date.
"Being considerate of everyone's time, I'm not sure how many more meetings you want to have as a Building Committee," Decoteau said. "I'm happy to come, but … "
Prudential Committee Chair David Moresi, who also serves on the Building Committee said he would like to see the Building Committee stay intact and see the project through to completion but agreed there might not be enough business to require monthly meetings.
Neely agreed that a quarterly schedule would be reasonable, and Decoteau said he would stay in touch with any issues that arise and require more frequent meetings.
The next time all the district's officials figure to be together is in two weeks for a Wednesday groundbreaking at 4 p.m. at the site of the new station, 560 Main St. (Route 2). The public is invited to the celebration; parking will be available across Main Street on the East Lawn Cemetery drive.
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