Council approves GMP No. 2 for South Kingstown High School; construction costs reported about $2 million under allocation

Council president MacIntyre voted with the majority to approve Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) No. 2 for the South Kingstown High School project after a multi-part presentation and follow-up discussion.

K Mass Dandy, chair of the School Building Committee, introduced the item and said the GMP represents the construction contract for the high school phase only and includes demolition and athletic-field work. Dandy said the project team and Gilbane had completed bidding and vetting and were presenting a construction GMP of $114,326,025, which the presenters described as about $1.9–2.0 million under the construction allocation on the project budget.

A presenter for the project team described how the total project budget remains $150,000,000 and said the $114,326,025 figure covers trade contractors, site services, owner allowances and contingencies for the high school construction contract. The presenter added that other buckets in the $150 million figure cover furniture, fixtures, equipment and technology, and the Curtis Corner athletic program.

Councilmembers pressed presenters for clarity on state reimbursement limits. A council exchange centered on the town's memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the state (referred to in the meeting as "RIDE" reimbursement). Presenters acknowledged prior MOA caps and inconsistent references during the discussion and committed to delivering a formal reimbursement calculation after the meeting, noting that some savings could be used to increase the portion of project costs eligible for the state reimbursement.

Councilmember comments praised the project team and Gilbane for a competitive bidding process and thorough value-engineering work that kept the program intact while reducing cost. The council then moved, seconded and voted to approve the GMP contract and authorize execution.

Next steps: presenters said change orders will be processed through the project's change-order task force and building committee; the town manager and the school building committee will circulate a written reimbursement calculation and any documentation requested by council.