JUN 22, 2024
BAR HARBOR—The bids for the Conners Emerson School’s rebuild came in on Thursday. The lowest bid is approximately $11 million over budget.
“We opened bids for the new school yesterday at 2 p.m. We had two bids. Both companies had pre-qualified,” Superintendent Michael Zboray said Friday.
The hand-delivered bids came from Bowman Construction of Newport and Wright-Ryan out of Portland. Bowman’s bid was read first and then Wright-Ryan’s.
Bowman’s bid was for $70,000,960. Wright-Ryan’s came in at $62,956,069.
The new construction budget is $49,501,450.
There is a bid contingency that is $2,475,073. Contingencies are usually meant to cover unknown costs. The total with the contingency included in the budget is $51,976,523.
“That is about an $11,000,000 delta,” Zboray said.
In June, Bar Harbor voters passed a $58 million bond to rebuild the ailing schools, which were built in the 1950s and support the town’s K-8 population. Broken boilers, rain inundation, a wall pulling away from the foundation, poor air exchanges, limited classroom space, and a lack of insulation are just some of the buildings’ recent problems.
At the time, former Conners Emerson School Committee member Robin Sue Tapley said, “We are literally sinking, collapsing, caving in, whatever you want to call it. This building will not be safe forever, whether it’s ceiling tiles coming down, air quality, walls coming out.”
The bond passed 1,005 to 502.
Construction is expected to begin this summer.
“Harriman Associates is reviewing the bid documents to ensure they meet the build requirements and asking for any necessary adjustments. The building committee will meet on Thursday to hear about any changes and then discuss options available to get the bid price down to match our budget without impacting our design and space priorities,” Zboray said.
He said that it was not the result we were looking for, but they would be working hard to support a new school.
Present were School Committee Chair Alexandra “Lilea” Simis; Lisa Sawin and Jamie Ouellette of Harriman Associates; Town Manager James Smith, Principal Dr. Heather Webster (via phone); and Zboray.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
To check out the project, click here.
Here is a link to bond advisor’s Joe Cuetara’s discussion.
For information on the Bar Harbor School Committee, click here.
For information on the Conners Emerson Building For Our Future project, click here.
https://www.harriman.com/projects/
Unless otherwise specified, images are via the school’s project website (link above) or former presentations by town Finance Director Sarah Gilbert and Zboray.
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