A contract prepared by DiGiorgio Associates (DAI), the architect chosen to investigate alternative designs for Phase 2 of the Hildreth House renovation and expansion project, was rejected by the Permanent Building Committee at its May 15 meeting. Members said the contract was incomplete and lacked sufficient detail.
Examples of missing information included a timeline, a list of deliverables, and information about invoicing and payments. Chair Cindy Russo was especially surprised that the contract did not mention code compliance issues and variance requests, which will be an important part of the Hildreth House renovation. In addition, the contract contained different legal language from that required by the town.
While the contract included development of three alternative plans, it did not mention what those alternatives would be based on—input from the town or just three different layouts? Russo said she would prefer DAI do one plan, get comments from the appropriate town committees and boards, and then revise the plan based on those comments.
Member Cory Dufresne said a lot was left unsaid in the contract and noted that the firm had not included enough meetings. For example, only one meeting was allowed for the “project kickoff and existing conditions survey.” Russo called the contract “squishy,” and member Rick Maiore said, “It’s a no go. We can’t award anything on this basis.”
Russo said she would create a list of issues the committee wants corrected, and she asked Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro to email the list to DAI and ask for an updated contract by May 27. The committee will meet again May 28.
