The town needs an additional $2.3 million for the project that will connect its town water system to the Devens water supply, leaving the Water Commission and the Select Board with few good options.
Both the commission and the board met on April 24 and agreed that the town should take advantage of a new state policy allowing towns to ask for an increase in the amount of excluded debt voted on by Town Meeting and at the ballot box if bids exceed that amount.
But the two groups differed on whether to wait for resident input on raising the debt before awarding any contracts. Water Commission Chair Cindy Russo said waiting could result in having to rebid the project, while Select Board members all expressed discomfort with moving ahead before asking for feedback from the town. At the end of its meeting, the Select Board voted unanimously to ask the state for the excluded debt increase and to hold a Special Town Meeting May 10 to ask for voter buy-in. It also directed the Water Commission to ask for any bid extensions necessary so contract awards can be delayed until May 10.
Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro explained to the Water Commission that the Department of Revenue began allowing towns to request excluded debt increases two years ago, when rising construction and materials costs put many towns in a position of chasing ever-increasing bids with multiple town meetings and elections.
Sobalvarro said the other option was to have the town vote on the higher amount needed for the project, but that would require a Special Town Meeting and an election. Elections must be scheduled 35 days in advance, and the bids are only good for 30 days, she said.
Bids for the project came in about $1.3 million over the $4.85 million the town voted for last spring. When soft costs were recalculated using the new construction amounts, the total overage ballooned to $2.3 million.
Engineering firm Tighe & Bond, which provided the cost estimates the town vote was based on, supplied the Water Commission and Select Board with an itemized list of costs that came in over estimates and the explanation for each overage. Engineer Mary Danielson said the largest cost increase was the linear foot charge for the 9,000 linear feet of ductal iron pipe that will run from the new pump station across the railroad tracks at the end of Depot Road to the existing water main on Ayer Road. During this bidding cycle, Danielson said, her firm was seeing prices of about $175 per linear foot for iron pipe, but the lowest price in the seven bids the town received for the water main portion of the project was $250 per linear foot. Installation requirements for the pipes under the railway track, imposed by the railway owner during negotiations, added another half million dollars to the estimated cost of the project.
Is rebidding risky?
Water Commission Chair Cindy Russo said she was concerned about rebidding the project. She said prices are continuing to go up, and Tighe & Bond engineers have worked with the low bidders before and were confident they would do a good job. She also reiterated that this is not an optional project, especially considering the new federal PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) regulations, which town wells barely met in recent tests.
The board agreed that waiting for another vote would put the existing bids in jeopardy, possibly resulting in even higher bids. Member Charles Oliver suggested one option would be to hold a Special Town Meeting and take a nonbinding vote on the debt increase. That would at least give residents a chance to weigh in.
But bids for the pump station portion of the project expire May 4, and scheduling a Special Town Meeting requires two weeks advance notice. Once everyone realized that a bid extension would be needed, Russo asked, “Are you willing to lose the bids over this?” She noted that the Special Town Meeting vote would have no legal impact. She added that she understood that increasing excluded debt without town input might put the board in a politically uncomfortable position, but “that’s why you get paid the big bucks.”
Select Board Chair Rich Maiore said the board didn’t want to move forward without town feedback. He said if the majority of attendees at the May 10 Special Town Meeting voice their approval, the board will vote to award the contracts. Several board members said they were confident that the town would agree to increase the debt because residents understand the importance of safe drinking water for town center residents as well as for the schools.
Sobalvarro said the DOR will review the town’s request, and if it is satisfied that the scope of the project has not changed, it will likely grant the debt increase. She said she expects the state to respond within a week. If that response arrives in time for the next Select Board meeting, scheduled for April 30, and the response is positive, the board will vote on whether to accept the offer to increase the debt. Should the majority of voters at a May 10 Special Town Meeting disapprove, it’s unclear what next steps the board would take.
