The first phase of Town Hall construction is nearing completion, with the first floor offices, including the town clerk’s office, expected to be done and open by mid-September, according to consultants for the project.
Lags in delivery of materials have caused delays, but HVAC systems, information technology and security measures will be finished in the next few weeks, Andy Jackson of Dovetail Consultants told the Town Council at its Aug 25 meeting. Dovetail represents the Town’s interests as it oversees the renovation project.
Contractors are nearly ready to finish the flooring, according to Jennifer Janelle, interim town manager.
The original completion date of Dec. 31, 2026, for the entire project, which was pushed back in July to Jan. 27, 2027, is now expected to be Feb. 12, Jackson said.
Both Charters Brothers of Danville, N.H., the construction company doing the renovation, and the Town of South Berwick established contingency funds to deal with delays and change orders that could come up over the life of the job.
Charters Brothers has absorbed cost increases caused by delays and other factors over the last few months, Jackson said, so the Town has not had to use as much of its own funds. Charters Brothers has spent $450,000 of its initial contingency fund of $685,000.
In what he called “expectation management,” Jackson suggested the Town anticipate being called on to spend some of its own contingency funds for “bumps in the road” in next few months.
Investment of bond money the Town put aside for the project has earned a better return than expected, partly because of the project delay, Jackson noted. The original estimate of interest to be accrued by the Town was $165,000, but as of this month the bond fund has earned $318,000.
The Town is waiting to hear if it will secure a $75,000 grant for solar panels. The initial estimate for a full array of panels was $150,000, which was cut from the budget earlier. If the Town gets the grant, at least some solar panels will be installed.
Roof and ceiling work on the third floor, which was needed, is being completed and will allow for additional solar installations if the Town decides on them in the future.
Reached by email, Janelle explained, “The roof/third-floor ceiling work needed to be done regardless of whether we moved forward with the solar panels. The roof required structural work due to its age and original construction. Flat roofs in Maine were not engineered the same way 100 years ago as they are today so the structural work was necessary independent of the solar project.”
