By Adam Swift
The next meeting of the Firehouse Building Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, August 13 at 5 p.m. in the Harvey Hearing Room at Town Hall.
Last month, the firehouse committee agreed to hire Kaestle & Boos Associates (KBA) as the architect for the $38.5 million project.
KBA was the architect the town used for the preliminary study for a new fire station prior to the successful debt exclusion vote in the spring.
“The way that worked, we could have just given the contract without going out to bid, but we wanted to be as transparent as possible,” said Town Council President Jim Letterie at the most recent council meeting. “We did receive several bids and we had the companies come in and we met with and ranked each one. Those rankings are available for the public to see, it is part of the process.”
Letterie noted that KBA did receive several perfect rankings from some committee members.
“(KBA) is very familiar with the project, obviously, and there is a financial impact which is beneficial for the town where they have already done so much of the work,” said Letterie. “We are very happy and they are excited to remain part of the project, and they will have public meetings and we will have a public forum soon.”
The agenda for the August 13 meeting includes an update on the project from Larry Trim from KBA as well as from Dan Pallotta of P3, the owner’s project manager.
Currently, the town is looking at a construction schedule that has demolition taking place this fall, with construction of the fire station getting underway next spring with a 14- to 15-month build.