$2.5 million bid puts the brakes on Eastham harbormaster building

EASTHAM — Plans to construct a harbormaster building and make other improvements at Rock Harbor have hit another roadblock. Only one bid came in, and it was $1 million more than what town officials budgeted for the project.

Kuth Ranieri Architects estimated the total project cost to be $1.42 million. The project included a harbormaster building with ramps and landings. The first design proposed by Kuth Ranieri met with fierce opposition from neighbors for its modernistic, V-shaped design, extensive ramps and landings and lighting.

The architects presented a second design that was more traditional, farther from the water, and with a less extensive walkway and ramp system. Office and work space was whittled down to 650 square feet.

The only company to bid on the project was Robert B. Our Co., of Harwich, at a cost of $2.5 million.

Select Board member Jared Collins was surprised the company hired by the town didn’t see the million-dollar overage coming. “That seems shocking to me,” he said.

While Town Administrator Jacqueline Beebe agreed, she also suggested the increase was due to a few different factors: the current building environment on the Cape and the repercussions from COVID-19.

“COVID times and COVID pricing,” she said. “There's nothing about this project that should make it more expensive.”

At $1.5 million, the 650-square-foot building would have cost $1,025 per square foot. At $2.5 million, the price rises to $2,000 per square foot.

“There's a piece of me as a manager that’s offended by the price,” Beebe said.

The project could have been too small for large companies to care about, but too big for some companies not registered with the state, she said.

Contractors must be certified by the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to bid on projects offered by Massachusetts public agencies.

The town was awarded $750,000 from the Seaport Economic Council for the project. What the town does with the grant money, and what it does about the harbormaster project, boiled down to three options.

One plan would be to complete only site improvements, including drainage and parking lot upgrades, walkways, landscaping and removing an old shed.

A second plan would be to do nothing with the harbormaster building and put all of the $750,000 toward the upcoming project to dredge the Rock Harbor channel.

A third option would be to place a pre-fabricated building at the site. That would mean creating new plans and going before the Eastham Conservation Commission again.

If the town uses the grant money toward site improvement, the Seaport Economic Council could lessen the dollar amount. If the town doesn't use it for appropriate projects, it will have to be returned.

"Everyone on the Cape who is planning capital projects is concerned about the bid environment,” said Assistant Town Administrator and Finance Director Rich Bienvenue.

He said there is $1 billion in the pipeline for water and wastewater work on the Cape. Companies are focused on that, he said.

The Eastham Capital Projects Committee is slated to discuss the options at its meeting Monday.

Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: $2.5 million bid puts brakes on Eastham harbormaster building