Wakefield Permanent Building Committee approves multiple vendor invoices and change orders; staff flags technology overrun

The Wakefield Permanent Building Committee on Tuesday approved a series of vendor invoices and change orders and was notified that the project’s technology budget is over its previously set line after a miscount in the bid documents.

Committee members voted to approve invoices that included a Left Field invoice (invoice #195348) for $145,000 and an SMMA invoice for $114,937.23. The committee also approved a utility-related invoice submitted by WMGLD/WMTLD for the creation of service lines and hookups. Motions on these items passed by unanimous voice votes.

Staff told the committee that a miscount in the bid documents left 40 projectors specified while 89 classrooms need short-throw projectors, leaving 49 additional units unbidded. In describing the error, a project staff member said, “there’s just no 2 ways about it. It was a mess.” The staff member who presented the budget said a purchase order and change order are being processed now and that a final reconciliation of the technology budget will be returned to the committee next month.

The committee approved change order number 2 as a purchase order not to exceed $116,381.37, with the understanding that the owner’s soft-cost contingency would be used if required. A separate contingency transfer of $38,254 was approved and characterized in the presentation as producing a $0 net change to the project overall.

On site improvements, the committee approved lighting for Burnett Field — described in the meeting as the Moscow field lighting installation package — with a not-to-exceed price of $266,654 to come from construction contingency after staff reported the estimate had declined by about $20,000 since an earlier estimate.

Project finance staff gave a status snapshot: as of June, the project had committed about 92% of its budget and expended roughly 68%, with an uncommitted balance noted at $21,343,370 and construction at approximately 71% complete. The staff presenter said those figures would be refined once the technology reconciliation and other outstanding items settle.

Committee members asked procedural questions about future budget revisions; staff explained that any material change to the technology budget would require a formal budget revision request to move funds from the owner soft-cost contingency into the technology line.

Next steps: staff will return with a detailed technology-budget reconciliation and final change-order amounts at the committee’s next meeting. The committee also reminded members of an August 6 site tour and upcoming working-group meetings.