By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — The Washington Street paving project has run into a bit of a snag, as the estimated amount of pavement was lower than expected, and now Pike Industries has told the city there is a disparity of about $200,000 for the total cost.
“The Washington Street paving update had a curveball thrown at it this week,” Public Works Director Alex Gleeson told the city council on Wednesday night.
Gleeson will be negotiating with Pike Industries on how to proceed, but a consensus by the city council is to use transportation funds to pay for the difference. Finance Director and interim Co-City Manager Nancy Bates will be coming back with a resolution at the next city council meeting, and the hope is for the paving to begin around May 15 with a mid-June completion date.
A bid was put out in March 2024 and Gleeson explained there is about 30 days for a question-and-answer session before contractors place their bids. The city provided an estimate of 71,000 yards of pavement for the project and contractors then put out their best offer for the request for proposal (RFP). One question that came in was asked about the square yard area, and it seemed like the city’s estimate was low.
Gleeson said they were about 95 tons shy using 71,000 square yards of pavement as an estimate, and the city said these are estimates to keep a level playing field, and it is recommended that everyone check their own quantities and bid accordingly. He said it is customary for contractors to measure on their own before making a bid.
Bids came in and funding was approved during the winter, and an agreement was made with Pike Industries to start beginning in mid-May. This week, Pike Industries said they wanted to start on Sunday, and it would be $199,890 more.
Gleeson said he told them they cannot keep moving the goalpost on the price and the start date, and they will at least be sticking to the regular timeline.
Gleeson said he reached out to Pike’s leadership team to find out what happened, and they gave a few options including making the depth of the pavement less. They aren’t willing to work on the price of the two inch fill for the 2.3-mile stretch, he said, and the minimum should be at least an inch-and-a-half.
Gleeson said they want to stick with two inches because of the volume of traffic, and this puts the city in a bit of a bind.
“I guess I am looking for guidance on the approach there,” Gleeson said.
Mayor Dale Girard called for a 10-minute break after hearing this information, and Councilor Nick Koloski agreed and said, “I want a moment to scream.”
When they returned from the break, councilors asked questions about how this could have happened. Councilor William Greenrose wanted to understand the process. He said the city put the bid out with the number as an estimate, they came back and said it looked low, and the city responded saying to give a best offer on the estimate.
“They came out and measured, gave us a quote, signed the contract, and now they’ve come back and said, ‘something went wrong, and we need more money,’” Greenrose said. “Did I miss something there?”
Gleeson confirmed that Greenrose’s assessment was correct, saying “you nailed it.” Greenrose asked what the recourse in a contract for this would be and Gleeson said you can terminate a contract but at the current stage it would put them in a bit of a bind.
Gleeson explained that the pre-work is underway, with his DPW crew out putting tops and risers there as they waited for the ground to thaw. This needs to happen no matter who paves the road.
“Legal course of action, do we agree to the new amount?” Gleeson said. “I guess it depends on the stance of the council.”
Mayor Girard thanked Gleeson for bringing this to the council’s attention, noting he knows the last thing he wanted was to come before the council with this information. Girard said he would hate for them to drop below two inches because of the heavy traffic flow and also does not like the idea of spending more money.
Girard asked if there is potential to remove a rail trail aspect of about $65,000, which he said was a previous bone of contention anyway. Gleeson said he tried to negotiate about meeting halfway, and he will check with Pike Industries on this.
Bates said there is money in the transportation line of the budget to fund this, or there is money in fund balance to cover it.
“Those are really the only two options to fund it,” Bates said. “I don’t see it in this current budget. I don’t see anywhere I can pull it from.”
Councilor Andrew O’Hearne said that he doesn’t love the idea of looking for money, but he is in favor of dropping the rail trail portion of the paving project and using the rest of the money through transportation funds.
Koloski and Councilor Jonathan Hayden agreed that this is a scenario where Pike admitted they “messed up,” and he asked if they are allowed to do this. Gleeson said he had a similar thought and felt they had an ample opportunity to measure to avoid this.
O’Hearne said worst case scenario they could cancel the contract, but this could mean a higher rate to settle on in the end. He said in the future they need to make sure contracts are straight to avoid anything like this in the future.
Assistant Mayor Deb Matteau does not recommend legal action or rebidding because it could incur more costs.
Bates said the $1.24 million for the project has already been approved so they can get started on the project and can figure out how to cover the difference. Girard said his preference is to have a resolution involving using money from the transportation fund. However, he also has his fingers crossed that Gleeson can work some magic in negotiations, although he admitted it was unlikely that Pike will budge.
Koloski would like to speak with legal counsel about breach of contract, but said he is comfortable with the option of using the transportation fund money to fund the difference and eliminate the rail trail.
Gleeson said he would be on the phone with Pike Industries to negotiate, and Bates will be drafting a resolution to be voted on at the May 14 meeting.
