The Town may pursue cost relief from the architects that town officials claim could be responsible for some of the added unforeseen costs associated with the Town Hall renovation.
Town administrators have filed a “notice of potential claim,” reserving the right to pursue cost overrun reimbursement from Oak Point Associates, the architect for the renovation project.
According to a letter Town Manager Tim Pellerin sent Oak Point in April, the Town has a reasonable basis to conclude that a portion of the the HVAC cost overrun may be a result of errors on the part of the architect, among them design omission, incomplete depiction, or coordination deficiencies in the design documents.
The letter formally notifies Oak Point the Town is reserving its rights to pursue a financial remedy claim.
The HVAC overrun totaled $120,000, which was split between the Town and contractor Charters Brothers. As a result, the Town withdrew $60,000 from its contingency fund.
Under its contract, Oak Point is required to maintain $4 million in professional liability coverage per claim, and $4 million for all claims combined, for the duration of the project in the event performance of services is questioned by the Town.
The town’s attorney, Benjamin McCall of Drummond Woodsum, was copied on the correspondence, as was Dovetail Consulting, the owner’s representative for the renovation.
Filing the notice of claim is the first step in recovering cost, followed by a meeting with Oak Point to negotiate, Pellerin told the Town Council on May 12.
“The critical point is that we have up to two years after the notice of claim is filed, in the event that we find other stuff along the way,” he said.
While the Town continues to evaluate the full extent of the costs and impacts, Pellerin advised Oak Point to place its professional liability carrier on notice and to preserve all relevant project records.
