The delayed delivery of an essential component of the new heating system for Town Hall has pushed back the renovation project by several weeks.
Arrival from Europe of the HVAC system’s fan coil units has been delayed, requiring an adjustment to the renovation schedule, Interim Town Manager Jennifer Janelle informed the Town Council July 14.
Phase One’s completion date has been moved from mid-August to mid-September, said Janelle, and the project end date has been extended from Jan. 7, 2027, to Jan. 27, 2027.
Janelle and the town’s representative Dovetail Consulting, along with Councilors Mallory Cook and Joel Martin representing the Town Hall Renovation Committee, met later in the week with project architects Oak Point Associates to continue negotiations regarding the Town’s potential claim for costs arising from omissions in the HVAC design documents.
According to a letter former town manager Tim Pellerin sent Oak Point in April, the Town has a reasonable basis to conclude that a portion of an 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 notified Oak Point that 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 project contractor Charters Brothers.
A proposed agreement between the Town and Oak Point’s insurance company is now pending review by the town’s attorney, Janelle told the Reporter in an email Monday. Asked if she could speculate on a timeline for resolution, Janelle said, “I thought that it would have been done by now, so it’s hard to guess on a time line.”
